


Paving the future

by Eggplantouma



Series: Looking to the Future [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amputation, Angst, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Fluff, Happy moments - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Intense, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2019-06-14 17:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 26,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggplantouma/pseuds/Eggplantouma
Summary: Our couple have settled down at a new home years later after the previous events. Everything just seems so right, but things are about to go wrong.This sequel could have different tones from what the first one brought.





	1. A happy day

**Author's Note:**

> SUP! I really appreciate you all for supporting my last story. I’ve gotten a few suggestions about what to write in and depending on if I feel it could fit the mood of the story or not I might use the ideas! If you don’t see yours, I’m sorry! I just don’t know if I’ll fit it in.
> 
> By the way...if you’re new here, I would recommend you read the previous story in the series. Even though you could read this without knowing all the context, it would make more sense if you did read the other one.

Komaeda laughed while snuggled up to Hinata. It had been quite a few years since they’ve been dating. In fact, it’s been seven years. That was longer than they both expected.

 

Enoshima hadn’t been caught but she was presumed to be dead ever since some officers saw a dead body that resembles her. They never got to formally check because it exploded.

 

Whatever happened, Komaeda was relieved that he was mostly safe. He was writing a new novel for one of his series. Lately, the inspiration had been lacking a bit. Hinata joined the police force along with Saihara.

 

Speaking of Saihara, he was married to Ouma. It was a very happy night for all of them when Ouma said yes. The purple haired boy had worked at a cafe for a bit but eventually trained to be a police assistant. He caused trouble here and there but never messed with things that shouldn’t be messed with.

 

Things were going well for all of them. Komaeda and Hinata had a nice house with enough money to survive. It was the same with Ouma and Saihara.

 

. . .

 

“Nagito, can you stop fidgeting? It’s just a ferris wheel.”

 

The albino shook his head. “What if something bad happens?”

 

“We’ve been on these a million times. Have they ever went wrong?”

 

“I guess not...but this time could be different!”-

 

Hinata rolled his eyes and pulled Komaeda over. “Nothing is going to get in our way on our anniversary.”

 

“Fine,”

 

They both sat in one of the carts and waited. Komaeda eased up when he felt Hinata hold his hand. He closed his eyes as the ride started moving. Then he opened them once they were near the top. He looked out into the view of the city. It was beautiful. Without being able to look away, Komaeda wanted to reach out. He didn’t seem to notice Hinata letting go of his hand to get something.

 

At the top, the Ferris wheel stopped. Komaeda felt it was a little bit strange to stop so suddenly. He turned around to talk to Hinata but didn’t say a word. His mouth was slightly agape as he stared.

 

Hinata was on his knee with his hands holding a small box in front of Komaeda.

 

“Look, I know you want to go slow with things and we’ve been dating for seven years.”

 

There was a pause.

 

“But I just want you to know that those seven years have been the best years of my life. I love how you smile. I love how you laugh. Your eyes are the prettiest ones I’ve ever seen and nobody could ever compare to you. I don’t want to force you into this so please don’t you DARE accept just to make me happy. I want you to enjoy this just as much as I do. I will always wait for you no matter how long it takes.”

 

Komaeda felt tears in his eyes.

 

“To put it shortly...will you marry me?”

 

That’s when drops of tears slid down his cheeks. His eyes glistened.

 

“Yes! I will! I will! Oh my goodness yes, Hajime, I will!”

 

He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around Hinata. The latter smiled. He had a small blush. They both embraced each other.

 

Hinata slipped the ring onto Komaeda’s finger as the Ferris wheel started moving again.

 

“Oh my goodness, Hajime. I love you so much.”

 

“I know, Nagito. I love you too.”

 

When they got to the bottom and were let off, many people noticed Komaeda looking at his left hand and smiling brightly.

 

“I can’t believe you’d actually pay to get a ring.”

 

“You know I love you enough to do anything.”

 

“I suppose that’s true.”

 

They walked along a bridge during a sunset in a comfortable silence until Komaeda asked a question.

 

“When do you suppose we have the wedding?”

 

“Let’s get used to this first. Take as long as we need.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

They smiled at each other. Maybe this was the start of a great future.

 

. . .

 

It was another evening after inviting a few guests over.

 

They were all in the living room, talking about the engagement. Ouma was sitting next to Komaeda while looking at the ring. He was really happy about it.

 

“You lucky goose! Getting proposed to on a Ferris wheel? Where can I get a man like yours?”

 

Komaeda laughed while Saihara choked on his drink. The latter stared in terror.

 

“K-Kokichi! I proposed to you at a waterfall! We even had our wedding at your favorite flower garden!”

 

“Nishishi! I was kidding! You actually think that I’d trade you off? As if!”

 

“Don’t start joking about our wedding. It really takes the special feeling away.”

 

“Aw, you know that no matter how much I joke about it, I’ll still feel the magic of it.”

 

Hinata rolled his eyes. “I thought this was supposed to be about us.”

 

Ouma rolled his eyes and hit Hinata on the head with a rolled up news paper.

 

“Hey!”

 

Komaeda laughed at this and shook his head. Hinata started scolding Ouma while Saihara stood with a stern face.

 

The rest of the guests were having some fun watching the scene. Akamatsu and Amami were sitting next to each other. Yumeno yawned. Souda started laughing. Momota held Harukawa close Kuzuryu and Pekoyama seemed to be amused. Nanami played some games while having a thumbs up.

 

Hinata’s parents arrived a little later with a gift in hand. The soon to be wed couple were grateful.

 

“Izuru might arrive soon but for now just have this small cake.”, the mother cheerfully said.

 

“Thanks mom,” Hinata smiled.

 

Komaeda bowed his head down. “Thank you Hinata-san.”

 

“Just call me mom.”

 

“Ahaha I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to saying that.”

 

“Don’t worry about it!”

 

Everyone seemed to be enjoying their time with each other during the celebration.

 

Komaeda looked at his hand in awe. “I can’t believe this is actually happening!”

 

“I can’t either.”, Hinata laughed.

 

The others insisted on taking pictures and so they did. There were pictures of the celebration, the couple, and everyone there.

 

It was just perfect for them, wasn’t it?

 

. . .

 

“Ms. Junko! We have some news! The one you hate so much is going to get married soon.”

 

“Is that so? Well then, it seems like we’ll have to crash the party.”


	2. Threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Komaeda sees a strange package at the door. When it’s open, that’s when the chaos starts.

It was only a few days after the party when Komaeda found a mysterious package on the doorstep. Hinata was out doing his job as a cop so he was all alone. He left his book on a table before taking in the package.

 

Who was it from? What’s in there? The questions remained unanswered but a foul stench reeked from the box. The albino wrinkled his nose and put the package on the kitchen counter.

 

He looked at the box carefully. There was no address or anything written there. This gave Komaeda anxiety.

 

“Maybe it’s just a prank.”, he reasoned. It wasn’t enough to reassure him though. The stench was strong enough to drive him away.

 

It got so intense to the point he almost fell. Luckily the counter supported him but the box fell to the ground and all its contents spilled out.

 

Komaeda screamed. There was a note among in there that he reached for. His hands shook even more when he read it.

 

_I will get my revenge on you. Soon you’ll end up just like my gift...if not worse._

_Signed, me~_

 

He couldn’t bring himself to move. His eyes were wide with panic. There was blood spilled everywhere along with a few organs. Discarded flesh lied on the floor.

 

“W-why?! Why?!”

 

He slid down the counter top. The floor felt cold but the blood seemed to be warm. It must’ve been recent. With his hand reaching for his phone, Komaeda stared. It took a while for his mind to fully process what was in front of him. His reaction seemed delayed but he already knew what this meant. Quickly, he scrolled through the contacts until he tapped Hinata’s name.

 

The phone rung for a bit.

 

“Pick up the phone, Hajime. Please,”

 

What if Hinata had been killed? What if that’s why he won’t answer? What if THIS was Hinata?!

 

No, no, stay rational...

 

Komaeda started panicking much more. Tears sprung to his eyes.

 

“Hajime! Please!”

 

The phone was still buzzing.

 

“PLEASE ANSWER THE PHONE!”

 

It finally went to voicemail.

 

He dropped the phone on the cold floor. What if this really was him?

 

The albino picked the phone up again and tried calling Ouma.

 

“Helloooo? Ouma speaking,”

 

“K-Kokichi...”, he tried holding back the sobs.

 

The boy on the other line changed his demeanor from playful to serious. “Hey, what happened?”

 

“Is Hajime ok?”

 

“Yeah, he’s fine. He’s catching a suspect for robbery. Why? What happened?”

 

“Th-thank goodness,”

 

“Nagito, what happened?”

 

“I got a package. Th-the box fell and inside was a death threat!”

 

Komaeda could hear the other standing up.

 

“A death threat?!”

 

“Y-yes. There were organs in it...and blood too. I think Enoshima’s out to get me.”

 

“That’s impossible. She’s dead.”

 

“I don’t know what’s going on but it’s not good! Please come over!”

 

“I can’t right now but I’ll get someone over there, ok? Shit...hang in there. I’ll try to get back soon.”

 

“Th-thank you, Kokichi!”

 

“I’ll let Hinata know once he gets back. I’ll get Nanami to talk to you while you’re on the phone. Are you able to move away from there?”

 

Komaeda shivered. He didn’t want to move anywhere near that mess but it was blocking the exit.

 

“I can,”

 

“Good, get out of there, ok?”

 

Komaeda gives out a shaky yes before standing up slowly. He runs past the blood and goes upstairs.

 

“I gotta go right now. Nanami’s going to call you in a sec.”

 

“Mhm...”

 

He hung up the phone and hoped with all of his heart that everything was going to be ok. His phone rung again. This time, it was Nanami.

 

“H-hey...Chiaki...”

 

“Are you ok now?”

 

“Yeah...I-I’m in my room right now.”

 

“I think Ouma’s going to send someone over.”

 

“H-he is. Thank you for calling me.”

 

“It’s no problem. Just keep yourself safe, ok?”

 

“Alright,”

 

Her soft voice soothed him a bit until he heard a knock on the door. Cautious as ever, he made sure Nanami was still in call with him just in case something happened. He looked through the peephole. On the other side of the door was Momota, muttering to himself.

 

“Geez, that brat had to be so loud about it.”

 

Komaeda opened the door and gave a weak smile. He told Nanami he was going to hang up and she understood why.

 

“Hello, Momota. I didn’t really expect Ouma to call you.”

 

The other shrug while looking down. “Yeah, well he was panicking a bit and started shouting as soon as he saw me. He kept saying all this nonsense while making my ears bleed.”

 

“Ah, well you should come in.”

 

“Oh, yeah-“, when he looked back up, he screamed.

 

Komaeda winced at the noise.

 

“You are REALLY pale! I thought you were a ghost!”

 

“Ahaha, sorry, I’m just a little tense right now.”

 

“Y-yeah I guess.”, Momota stepped in and looked to the side. He almost screamed again when he saw the blood on the floor.

 

There was a silence until Momota said, “let’s go to the living room. I’ll help clean up here.”

 

Suddenly the door was slammed open. “Nagito!”

 

“Hajime?”, the albino responded. Momota jumped.

 

“Nagito, are you ok? Are you hurt? Ouma ran up to me and he was all serious about wanting me to go home.”

 

“I’m fine now.”

 

They hugged each other in relief. Hinata looked at the package and note. He walked over to it and sighed. “Who would do this?”

 

“Enoshima would.”, Komaeda whispered to himself. He looked at the death threat.

 

“At least...I think she would.”


	3. Author’s note

Hey guys...

I won’t be continuing to write this for a little bit. I’m not abandoning it! I’m just taking a break to pursue another project. I’ll get back soon. Love you all!


	4. Division

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go a lot worse and now they split apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the break I had. I was just needing a break. I’m back with this chapter now! Hope you enjoy.

Komaeda didn’t show any signs of pain or trauma. He seemed very happy and laid back while talking to Ouma. They both knew how he felt though.

 

The door was knocked on.

 

For a moment, things were quiet.

 

Ouma got up, ready to defend if necessary. He inched towards the door and opened it. His eyes narrowed. This was bad.

 

The purple haired boy went back inside and started rummaging through the house.

 

Komaeda wondered why until Ouma slapped the papers onto the table. Well, they were photos.

 

Not just any photos, photos of him, Hinata, Ouma, and Saihara.

 

Some were dated back way before the engagement, back in high school. Back before they even started dating. Hinata and Saihara weren’t very focused on in the older photos, but after Ouma and Saihara got married, they were significantly more noticeable and prominent. The most recent picture was of Ouma and Komaeda talking before they heard someone knocking the door.

 

Ouma came back with a frown. He held some cameras in his hand. “This whole place is full of cameras. We’re not going to be safe here.”

 

Komaeda noticed a picture that was different from the rest. His eyes widened.

 

. . .

 

“Is it a deal then?”

 

“Hm”

 

“If not then I have no choice but to kill you.”

 

“Oh don’t worry. I can’t wait to get my hands on them.”

 

“You can take the white haired one after I’m done with him. We can share Ouma.”

 

“I don’t exactly like that last part but if it means I get to hold him again, then I’ll be fine. It’s a deal then.”

 

“So then...what about you, then?”

 

“I hate you.”

 

She held a gun to her head. “If you joined me, then **they** will be guaranteed to be safe.”

 

She kept herself quiet and thought about it. “I’m sorry, Nagito.”

 

She grinned and held out her hand. She took it.

 

. . .

 

“Who could be trying to hurt us?”, Hinata questioned. Some of the investigators whispered to each other during the meeting.

 

“Nagito can’t be safe from harm right now, meaning that we might have to get a bodyguard for him.”, Saihara said. “You can’t always be there for him so you might need one.”

 

Hinata stiffened at the thought of not being able to protect someone he loved dearly.

 

“Do you have any suggestions on who to hire?”

 

Saihara looked down.

 

Kamakura burst in. “Hajime, Nagito called me saying that you weren’t picking up the phone.”

 

“Izuru! Why are you interrupting this meeting?”

 

“Because there’s a hostage involved and you’re going to help me.”

 

The police chief got up. “You can’t be in here right now. We’ll discuss things later.”

 

“Izuru, just go outside.”

 

Suddenly, a girl and guy stood up. “Kamakura, who’s the hostage?”

 

“Togami Byakuya,”

 

The room went silent.

 

“I see,” the girl said. “I’ll take this case once he gives the details.”

 

“That’s fine, Kirigiri, but this is part of Hinata’s case.”

 

“Hinata’s case?”, the boy asked.

 

“Yes, Komaeda Nagito received a package full of organs and blood with a threatening note. Recently, Ouma Kokichi was trying to call the station but nobody here answered. That was peculiar, wasn’t it? Ouma wanted to call you but since nobody would answer, he gave up. Komaeda called me and told me the details. I was already across the street at the cafe so I decided to come in here.”

 

“Why did they want to call me? And who’s the hostage?!”

 

“They received pictures of themselves that indicated that there was a stalker. Among those pictures was a photo of Togami, tied up. He went missing yesterday and didn’t come back. I was planning on waiting a few more hours until Komaeda called about the situation.”

 

“This is bad.”, Hinata growled.

 

“They want to have an exchange. Byakuya for Nagito.”

 

Hinata slammed his fist onto the table. The police chief had a grave look on his face.

 

Kamakura got his phone out and called Komaeda.

 

“Izuru? Did something happen?”

 

“No, I’m talking to them right now.”

 

“I see.”

 

The police chief gestured for everyone else to leave the room. The only ones left were, Kamakura, Hinata, and Saihara.

 

“Nagito, are you ok?”, Hinata asked.

 

“I’m fine. Kokichi’s with me.”

 

Hinata snatched Kamakura’s phone. “Don’t worry about anything, ok?”

 

“Hajime, I’m going.”

 

“What?!”

 

“The exchange...I’m going. Togami is more important than I am. He should be our top priority.”

 

“No! Nagito, please! We’ll find another way to do this.”

 

“The exchange is happening one month from now. The photo I saw made me think about what to do. Kokichi found that on the back of it there was a date and address. Seeing that, scared me but I’m still going to that location.”

 

“No Komaeda! You’re not going anywhere.”

 

Ouma’s angry grunts can be heard on the other end. “I don’t want him to go either butwe have no choice. This is THE Byakuya Togami! The heir of one of the biggest corporations. With him as a hostage, the Togami Corporation will probably fall due to the heir being missing. If that happens, who knows what the damage will be? Our country would be seen as a weak and easy target. They’ll start aiming for us.”

 

“Are you just going to give up that easily?! I thought you were Nagito’s closest friend! You don’t care about his wellbeing do you?! If you did, you would stop him from going!”, Hinata shouted.

 

“Did you forget that he was my childhood best friend? Of course I care for him! I love him too you know! But the entire country is in risk of tragedy! I hate that it’s come to this! I hate that I couldn’t prevent it! But guess what? That doesn’t matter to whoever is doing this!”

 

“So you think that there’s only two choices?!”

 

“They’re not giving us any other option!”

 

Saihara tried to calm things down but ended up siding with Hinata and trying to convince Ouma. Kamakura couldn’t step in because of how intense it was.

 

The shouting kept on going until Komaeda snapped.

 

“Shut up!”

 

Everyone went silent.

 

“I’m going through with that exchange and that’s final! Just stop fighting, ok? I already made my choice.”

 

Hinata spoke up. “Nagito, don’t do this. Please! There has to be another way!”

 

“No, Hajime. I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of me. You’re being targeted because you proposed to me.”

 

“I can’t believe you’re agreeing to this!”, Hinata felt himself get mad again.

 

“I’m sorry but the country should be our main priority.”

 

Hinata threw the phone across the table. Kamakura was a little ticked off but didn’t say a thing.

 

Hinata stormed out. Saihara followed to help calm him down. Kamakura looked at his phone and gave a slight scowl.

 

This was going to divide them apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting a little tense.


	5. Intensity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little tough for these couples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get into this chapter...
> 
> https://www.twitch.tv/videos/291497547
> 
> Ta da! It’s the first episode of Land of the Yanderes! I’d suggest not watching if you’re a child lol. 
> 
> The director worked really hard on this! Please show some love on the channel, Boldfish. I was lucky enough to voice in this and it would be greatly appreciated if you could help us out by watching!

A few days after that fight, Hinata had kept a close eye on Komaeda. They avoided talking to each other but still shared the same bed. Neither of them talked to each other for a while.

 

Komaeda tried to leave signs of still loving his partner by leaving dinner on the table after a late night patrol or putting neatly folded clothes in the bathroom.

 

Hinata was less interactive but still showed signs of appreciation. When he returns home after a long day of work and sees Komaeda falling asleep after continuing to write a novel, he makes sure to put a blanket over him.

 

After Komaeda wakes up and starts writing again, they’d both do different things. The albino takes a shower while the brunette watches tv to clear his mind. Once that’s done, they slip back into bed without saying a word to each other.

 

Hinata was still mad but he didn’t want Komaeda to feel unloved.

 

“I love you,” he whispered before turning the other way.

 

The other doesn’t respond. Hinata feels sadness bubbling up inside. He feels guilty.

 

What he doesn’t know, is that Komaeda wanted to say those same words back but he couldn’t. He doesn’t want the other to know he’s crying so he keeps quiet and pretends to sleep.

 

The other couple weren’t doing any better than they were.

 

Saihara had tried to keep his calm but blew up when Ouma started to get a more foul mood than before.

 

Everyday, they’d wake up and ignore each other. Saihara wanted to reach out but Ouma was clearly not having it. He keeps walking off and ignoring his husband.

 

They both go to work without speaking. Many people noticed Hinata’s obvious grumpiness but EVERYONE knew something was wrong between Ouma and Saihara.

 

They just flat out ignore each other and when they have to talk they do it as if they were only cold businessmen.

 

Since Ouma tends to leave earlier than Saihara, he goes across the street to a cafe to get some sweets.

 

They get home at the same time and seem to be a lot more tired now. Saihara makes dinner for the both of them but Ouma refuses to eat.

 

That’s when things really get sour.

 

They both start arguing about the commitment in their relationship. This goes on throughout the entire night.

 

They never touched one another but they seemed ready to bite and claw at each other.

 

The both of them just stop arguing abruptly and go silent. Ouma leaves the house and goes off somewhere.

 

Saihara sits on the couch and waits for the other to come back.

 

Both of the relationships seemed to be going in this cycle for a couple weeks.

 

Eventually things get much worse when Ouma throws his ring to Saihara and tells him to keep it during one argument. He left and wasn’t seen at all after that. Saihara gets worried when he sees that the other isn’t going to work. He tries calling but Ouma never picks up. When he calls Komaeda, he gets answers.

 

“Ouma and I are out of the city to deliver some things.”

 

That’s when Saihara calls Hinata and asks him about Komaeda.

 

The other responds with, “He’s at the store right now. Kazuichi’s keeping an eye on him.”

 

“Are you sure? Because Komaeda just told me that he was out with Ouma to deliver something.”

 

Saihara could hear cursing from the other end. Hinata hangs up to call Souda. Apparently the latter got distracted by Sonia.

 

Hinata calls Saihara back. Saihara tells him that he’ll take care of this and runs off.

 

“They still have their phones on them. I can try tracking them down.”

 

. . .

 

Ouma and Komaeda walked side by side on the grass.

 

“Do you think it was a good idea to run?”, Komaeda asked.

 

Ouma glares at the ground. “I’m certain that they don’t even care.”

 

“I’m sure Shuichi cares.”

 

“I literally ran off and threw my ring at his face. He has to hate me now.”

 

Komaeda looked at his own ring. “I don’t think Shuichi is that kind of person.”

 

“Yeah right. Who wouldn’t hate me after everything I’ve done.”

 

His voice gets quieter. “After all, I am the villain.”

 

“Kokichi, I still love you.”

 

“I hope you do after all of this. I’m not doing anything to keep you from them. Isn’t that bad?”

 

“No, you’re saying it all without context. You care about the fate of our country. It’s only logical you see it this way.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be.”

 

They let the silence gnaw at them.

 

“What will you do after I’m gone?”, Komaeda whispered.

 

Ouma looks at him. “I’ll disappear forever.”

 

The albino stops. “Please don’t kill yourself.”

 

“I won’t, I won’t. I’ll just disappear from records and come back as a new person nobody will recognize.”

 

“Can you promise me something?”

 

“Depends,”

 

“Promise me that you won’t give up on yourself.”

 

“That’s hard but...I will.”

 

There’s another silence until Ouma latches onto Komaeda with his face buried in the other’s chest.

 

“You’re going to die...I can’t believe it! I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay with me!”

 

They sit down on a field. Another week and he’ll be gone. Komaeda and Ouma get up. They leave something on the ground and board another taxi.

 

After they left the field became loud with buzzes. On the phones left behind were the caller ID’s of their loved ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter and showing some support! Any criticism and feedback is welcomed!


	6. Tragedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are just as depressing as everyone knows it. The day has finally come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for not updating at all lately! I’ve been working on things on deviantart. This chapter isn’t the best but I hope you enjoy.

They rested under a bridge where nobody would ever find them. Komaeda didn’t want to regret his decisions. He just wanted everything to go back to normal.

 

A week has finally passed and everything seems to be gloomy. Nobody was happy about this. Ouma’s frown deepened when they made it to the meeting exchange point.

 

“Kokichi, you have to leave. You’re going to be hurt if you continue on.”

 

“Fine...”

 

They hugged each other for one last time before a ship arrived. Ouma had to retreat and run away.

 

The purple haired boy noticed something on his clothes. “What?”

 

He got it out and stared at it. That’s when he turned paler.

 

“A tracker?”

 

He turned around and watched the following events unfold.

 

A car pulled up near the dock and someone ran out. Komaeda was standing there with a blank expression. Someone on the ship had pointed a gun at the albino.

 

Suddenly, someone pushed Komaeda into the water.

 

Ouma heard the gunshot. It had hit the person who pushed Komaeda.

 

The purple haired boy fell to his knees. He couldn’t do anything to stop this.

 

. . .

 

A day earlier:

 

Saihara found the phones in the field. He gritted his teeth. In his hand was a ring. The dark haired boy stared at it with regret in his eyes.

 

“Kokichi, you leave me no choice.”

 

He got another device out. He didn’t want to use a tracker but he already suspected that he would need it on Ouma.

 

They were in a completely different city. Ouma wasn’t stupid but he failed to notice that he was bugged. Saihara was relieved though.

 

He continued on his way to find them.

 

. . .

 

There was a sense of panic in the air. Komaeda was standing there as a gun was being pointed at him. Saihara needed to do something.

 

He rushed out of the car and pushed the albino away.

 

Komaeda’s eyes widened when he saw him.

 

Saihara felt pain in his side just as the gun went off. It was over for him. He knew this but couldn’t do anything. His world was already torn apart and yet he still clung onto the ring. Everything started fading to black.

 

That was the end for him.

 

Komaeda on the other hand fell into the water. He didn’t swim . He just let himself sink down even further. Drowning seemed like the best option. He lost his breath and saw black spots in his vision. What a tragedy. Still, he felt someone or something pulling his hand.

 

“I love you, Hajime.”

 

That’s what he thought before nothingness filled his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for supporting me. I know it’s a little short.


	7. I’m sorry

I’m sorry but I’m taking another huge break from this. I have a lot of the story planned already but I haven’t fleshed it out. This sequel was supposed to be about 15 chapters not including author’s notes. I’m sorry for not being able to write much. I’ll still be around but I’ll stop writing here for a little bit. There’s a lot I want to do with this story but it feels a bit rushed for me since I’m beginning to grow a little bit more apathetic. I have another story idea right now but due to my unmotivated state I might need to hold that on a higher priority because of my terrible memory.

Again, I’m sorry about all of this. I know I left everyone on a cliffhanger but I just can’t go through with writing another poorly written chapter without zoning out.

 

I hope you all have a nice day. You can check out some projects I’m a part of while waiting because at least I’ll have a little bit more spirit like [this](http://www.twitch.tv/boldfish77/v/291497547?sr=a)

Thank you for supporting this story. Hope to see you all soon!


	8. Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does everyone deal with the news?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for not updating too much on this story! I won’t post chapters often but I’ll try every now and then!

Saihara opened his eyes to find himself in what looks to be a basement. His ring was missing and the pain seeped in. The male held his side as he observed his surroundings. Was Komaeda safe? How about Ouma? Where were they now?

 

Then, Enoshima entered the room.

 

“Impossible...you’re dead.”

 

The girl laughed at his face. “Well...smelly Mukuro is dead. I’m not.”

 

Her smile became twisted.

 

“You were the one who took him away from me...I want you to suffer a long and excruciating death for that.” She crouched down and lifted Saihara’s chin. “He’s mine and only mine. I want him and I won’t stop until I get him.”

 

The dark haired male instinctively moved away from her. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on him!”

 

“AHAHAHA! You think that’ll stop me from trying? You’re wrong.”

 

The grin grew bigger than ever. “He’ll be mine forever! Think about how cute he’ll look in a skirt! How scared he’ll be when I hold a knife close to his skin! How broken he would be when he realizes that he’ll never escape me,”

 

Words echoed in the basement along with her haunting laugh.

 

. . .

 

Ouma was struggling to keep himself calm. The love of his life was shot and killed. His best friend drowned. He was unable to prevent anything. Was it his fault? He was the one who agreed to doing this.

 

Screams of agony resonated throughout the entire area. His face was buried in his arms. Why didn’t he say I love you to Saihara? Why didn’t he save Komaeda? Why? Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy?!

 

After an hour of crying, Ouma slowly got up with a stony face. No emotions could be seen in his eyes.

 

The car was still on the dock. It might be out of fuel soon. The purple haired male made his way over and started the car. He saw Saihara’s phone and picked it up.

 

“Saihara? Did you find them? Is Nagito ok?!”

 

“Hinata...I’m sorry.”

 

“Ouma?! What happened? Is Nagito there?! Let me speak to him!”

 

The other got fed up with this. “Shut up! Nagito and Shuichi are both dead!”

 

The other end went silent for a bit.

 

“They’re...dead?”

 

“Shuichi was shot when he pushed Nagito. Nagito drowned.”

 

“Why didn’t you do anything?!”

 

Ouma pulled the phone away from his ear. It seems his temper was short today.

 

“Shut up! Just shut your mouth! Do you think I wanted this to happen?! If I knew that these would be the results then I wouldn’t have agreed to Nagito’s request! Besides, you have nothing to do with this anymore. They’re both dead now so just move on!”

 

“You’d really say that? Your husband and your best friend are dead right now and you’re telling me to move on? What about you then? Do you feel nothing?”

 

Ouma threw the phone to the other seat. “There’s no point in crying about it all day! It won’t bring anyone back no matter how much you cry! Moving on and building walls is the only way to avoid emotional tragedies like this!”

 

“Ouma...you must have a really bad view on life. I pity you.”

 

Then Hinata hung up.

 

Frustration and pain was something Ouma didn’t know he would feel so intensely. Tears fell down again as he hit the steering wheel.

 

“You idiot...don’t you know I’m feeling devastated too?”, he muttered.

 

. . .

 

Hinata wanted to throw everything to the ground. He would do anything to bring Komaeda back and tell him he loved him. The picture by his side was of the both of them at the theme park a little after the proposal.

 

Komaeda was dead?

 

He was dead?

 

Dead?

 

Why did it have to him of all people? The albino didn’t deserve any of this whatsoever.

 

Just remembering the other’s eyes was enough to send Hinata insane with grief. He’ll never be able to see them again. The photos never showed that glint in his eyes. Only the real thing would be the most beautiful sight to behold.

 

“Please let me see him again! Let me see Nagito again! I’m begging to whoever’s out there!”

 

The brunette saw that there was an email notification and checked it.

 

That was the worst mistake he had ever made.

 

In the inbox was an email from one of Komaeda’s fans.

 

_Dear Komaeda,_

_Hi! I’m a huge fan of yours and I love your novel! I can’t wait to see more from you. I heard that your next book is going to be a sequel to the first book you wrote. You inspire me so much! I hope this made your day a little better. I hope to see your future stories soon!_

_From,_

_A huge fan of yours!_

 

Hinata laughed in disbelief.

 

Future stories?

 

There won’t be any.

 

. . .

 

The next few days were a bit difficult for Hinata. Ouma was back on the workforce but he didn’t show any signs of life. In fact, all the cops got chills from the seriousness their coworker was having. Ouma became a full time worker there and showed no mercy when it came to mistakes. Anyone new would be intimidated by him and would generally stay away.

 

A rookie came to Hinata once and asked, “I heard that he was a fun guy but when I got here he just seems so cold. Did I do something wrong?”

 

Hinata himself wasn’t showing signs of friendliness either but he put on a fake smile for others. Right now was one of those moments where he just didn’t want to smile.

 

“Ouma...lost his husband and friend earlier this week. My husband and his husband died in front of him and he didn’t do anything.”, Hinata glared at Ouma. He had no problem throwing shade at the other.

 

“Is it really his fault though? He seems really shaken up by it.”

 

“I wouldn’t place the blame solely on him but that’s not the real reason I’m mad. What he said to me right after they died really got under my skin.”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“That’s a bit personal.”

 

Hinata stood up and walked elsewhere.

 

. . .

 

The slashing would continue throughout the night. Burning heat was put up close to him until he’d pass out from the smoke. The morning was when Enoshima would stop to make plans.

 

At least it wasn’t Komaeda.

 

Did Komaeda survive?

 

Who truly knows?

 

. . .

 

Hinata was sitting next to Nanami across his parents. His mother was in tears after hearing about Komaeda’s death. Father was trying to comfort her but he too had sadness in his heart. Nanami was also barely keeping herself together.

 

“I’m so sorry about Komaeda.”, she whispered.

 

“Thank you for caring about him after all this time.”, Hinata responded.

 

Hinata’s mother finally looked up from her spot.

 

“He was a good man. I don’t think I’ll ever forget him.”

 

Nanami took her remote and turned on the news. Her eyes widened when she stared at the scene in front of them.

 

_“Recently, a popular author by the name of Komaeda Nagito has died. The police haven’t disclosed any information on how he died but many of his fans have speculated that he might’ve been stressed out while writing a new novel. Right now, those fans are gathering together in countless places while holding up signs that read something along the lines of, Rest In Peace and we love you. There are so many of them blocking traffic.”_

_The woman headed over to a girl who was holding up a sign and asked, “How do you feel about this crowd blocking traffic?”_

_The girl turned to face the camera with sadness. “I don’t particularly mind but I do think it is a bit impolite. I’ve been a fan ever since his first novel, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. I’m a little bit more shaken up now because a few days ago around the time he died, I sent an email telling him that I loved his stories and that I couldn’t wait to just see more from him. Unlike what everyone else believes, I don’t think that he died from stress. I feel a little guilty because if it was a suicide then I might of been the last straw. What if he did it because fans pushed him to write a story?”_

All the other words were now blurred to Hinata. That was the girl who sent the email? His attention was caught again when the reporter interviewed an a fourteen year old boy.

_“What do I think? I think that he’s overrated. That author is causing trouble for everyone around him even after death. I never once liked his stories and every time I speak my opinions, his rabid fans just attack me! Right now his death is making everyone angry! I don’t regret saying this. His fans and family can attack me all they want but I won’t take it back.”_

 

Nanami glared at the screen while Hinata’s parents give a slightly disdained look.

 

Hinata himself slammed his fist onto the table.

 

“Don’t you dare speak about him that way!”

 

**Causing trouble for everyone around him**

 

Komaeda’s thoughts on himself was the exact same. Hinata promised the albino that he doesn’t think that way about him.

 

At the same time Hinata was cursing at the screen, Ouma was slamming a knife down on a vegetable.

 

That boy made Ouma chop even faster. His anger and resentment went above and beyond just fury.

 

He stabbed the cutting board and turned off the tv.

 

Looking over to the counter, he saw a picture of Saihara and himself.

 

The boy picked the picture frame up and asked, “What should I do?”

 

He put it down and put the carrots in the stew he was making for dinner. Komaeda and Saihara were always good cooks.

 

Whatever...

 

“Causing trouble for everyone around him? That’s what you’re doing isn’t it? How hypocritical of you.”

 

He pulled the knife out and stared at it. He put it down but looked at it again for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter!


	9. Trio of mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Komaeda? Hinata is learning to accept the situation at hand and Ouma’s sanity has been slipping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating. I suddenly felt really motivated and realized that some of you are probably waiting for this. A new chapter will probably be added later. It’s going to be separate due to the fact that I want to focus on a certain character for that chapter.

The water was calming but gave a sad feeling.

 

Komaeda’s eyes opened. Where was he? What was going on? The room was mostly dark. The only light was some sort of sunlight shining down on him like a spotlight. His hands and feet were tied up. He could tell that someone else was in the room, in the shadows.

 

“No need to fear anything. You’re in a state of some sort of shock, correct?”

 

The albino’s mouth felt dry. He wanted to say something but he couldn’t.

 

“I see. Well, I don’t have much time here for the moment. I can see why anyone would be attracted to you. You’re certainly a rare sight to behold. Your hair is so pure and clean, and your eyes...they are very beautiful. Dear sister would love to see you in person.”

 

Finally, Komaeda choked out a few words. “Who are you? W-what do you want?”

 

“I just want the best for sister. As for who I am? Well, you certainly must remember me.”

 

The voice was familiar to him but he couldn’t place it.

 

“You were always interesting to observe but Kokichi was much more than you. Then again, you seemed to have matured and blossomed into a beautiful flower that could almost rival him. Of course he’ll always be held at a special place in my heart.”

 

It clicked the moment those words came out.

 

“N-no way. Why? Why are you doing this?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Shinguji, please don’t do this.”

 

Nothing was said until Shinguji left the shadows and walked towards him. He lifted Komaeda’s chin.

 

“Those eyes are much prettier when they’re filled with fear.”

 

Then, he left the room.

 

. . .

 

Ouma kept chopping onions until he saw a tear fall onto the chopping board. He tried convincing himself that it was just onions but deep down he already knew. The house was very different without Saihara. The clock’s ticking became louder each day. Pictures seemed so much duller. The rooms became dustier with every second that passed by.

 

He sighed to himself and dropped the knife. Ouma flinched. It barely cut his foot. Luckily it was just a small scratch. He bent down to pick it up but stopped. The knife had a little bit of blood on it. His reflection showed how terrible he was doing. The memory of yesterday’s broadcast made him shiver in frustration again. That kid doesn’t deserve death but there had to be some sort of consequence. He saw him somewhere before.

 

Ouma cleaned up his wound and finished up cooking. He sat down at his computer and searched up the news from yesterday. The face of the boy was on many thumbnails across the results.

 

He didn’t saw this boy somewhere. Maybe it was some sort of deja vu.

 

Ouma got up and went out for a walk, not noticing that he had failed to let go of the knife again.

 

Walking around aimlessly was doing nothing good for the promise he kept with Komaeda. “Don’t give up on myself? I’m sorry Nagi...”

 

Oh? It seems like a person was hanging out at school gates. It was the same high school he used to go to but ever since he graduated, things got pretty rough.

 

It was too dark to see who that person was but once he turned around, everything became clear as day. What a coincidence...

 

Of course, that’s why he was so familiar. The kid went to the high school. Ouma often sees him chatting with some purple haired girl but he thought nothing out of it.

 

Subconsciously, he moved little by little until the boy spots him.

 

“Hey, Kirie? Is that you? Geez, stop being so late all the time.”

 

Ouma lashed out and tackled him to the ground. He held the knife up and brought it down.

 

. . .

 

Fujisaki was another person who kept track of things. He was the assistant of another member of the force named Ishimaru.

 

Hinata noted that Ishimaru was in a relationship with one of their prisoners, Oowada. Of course the former didn’t have any plans of letting him free. Fujisaki keeps close to the both of them too.

 

Why did Hinata remember this? Well, Fujisaki was trying to comfort him.

 

“Why are you doing this for me?”

 

“I don’t understand how you feel but, I hope there’s some way I can relate to you. Komaeda was an author I really respected and honestly I just relate so much to a character from one of his books. I feel lost too. I’m sorry that he has gone through such things.”

 

“Thank you, Fujisaki. Saihara and Nagito were really important to me. I just hope that they didn’t go in pain. I just wish I got to tell him I loved him. And then there’s Kokichi. I’m not that close to him and lately he’s been agitating me but I just hope he has some sort of emotion about it. I’m still mad at him but he’s in pain. Even though he tells me he doesn’t care, I could hear some sort of pain in his voice.”

 

“You should go talk to him. Maybe you guys could come to a middle ground. It might help a little bit.”

 

“I’d love to but I don’t think he’s willing to even make eye contact with me.”

 

Hinata looked outside the window. The darkness of the night must’ve reached his heart. He felt somewhat empty, like something or someone was missing. Of course someone was missing. That missing person was Komaeda.

 

“Well, just try. It’ll achieve more than nothing.”, Fujisaki gave a small smile. He got up. “I should get going now. Ishimaru’s going to wonder where I am.”

 

Hinata nodded. “Have you ever felt so lost without a lover?”

 

Fujisaki paused. “I’m always close to who I love but he...chose to love someone else. So in a way, I do feel a little lost. At least he’ll still be in my life.”

 

“Who’s that?”

 

“...Mondo Oowada. Of course, as you know, he loves Ishimaru more than me. I don’t have it against either of them though. I’m happy they’re happy together.”

 

Fujisaki smiled and walked off.

 

Hinata felt guilty for asking.


	10. Ouma’s past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title says, we’ll take a look into Ouma’s past.

Ouma missed. He wasn’t going to become a criminal because of this. He wasn’t going to become what he hated. Violence itself was never good for him. Memories of his childhood flashed by.

 

Abusive people everywhere in his life. Home? He had none. The orphanage was absolute hell for him. After being adopted? Abusive parents. Father was never a good man. He just wanted a servant, a punching bag to vent his anger on. Mother was delusional. She always called him Kirie. After their daughter ran away, Ouma found himself replacing her. Their purple eyes and hair resulted in mother’s want to always be with him.

 

Ouma Kirie? What a terrible name. Maybe that’s when the bullying started. They always hated how girly he acted before due to mother’s game. Then, when he started to break from the beatings, his distrust grew. He wasn’t feminine at that point, still they’d bully him.

 

His parents went missing and so his aunt took custody. Of course she never cared and threw him out. It was during one of his emotional heartbreaks. The girl he thought was his only friend at the time was the one who started up rumors to make the bullying worse. When he found out, his head started hurting.

 

Then Komaeda happened. Ouma was used to the beatings that occur regularly but Komaeda saved him like an angel. Ever since that day, Ouma had been conflicted. He saw the good in Komaeda. A part of him wanted to look the other direction. He hated how optimistic the other boy was. He just wished that he was always smiling like that. So, he began his lying habit there. He always smiled but it never made him truly happy. It proved useless.

 

Komaeda was oblivious to all of this. At least he thought the other was oblivious to all of this. It turns out that the albino could tell that Ouma was faking it. He understood fully well.

 

“You look prettier when you’re smiling genuinely.”

 

That was the start of Ouma’s crush on Komaeda. He finally broke through a part of Ouma’s barrier. Still, he didn’t let it fall quite yet. He had forced himself to stop thinking about his feelings due to the fact that it probably wouldn’t happen.

 

Shinguji, another significant person in his life was someone he put up full barriers for until they started hanging out more. They both found each other interesting enough. Ouma still had feelings for Komaeda but was overwhelmed with the feeling of affection for Shinguji. The barriers weren’t fully down but it was low enough for him to become a big part of his life. He set aside his feelings for the albino.

 

One of the biggest events in his life happened. Shinguji had invited him over to look at some sort of project. Little did Ouma know, he was the project itself.

 

The warehouse looked more like a small museum to him. Shinguji took him on a tour until finally, they came across a gigantic picture frame. There were wires on each corner of the frame. Strangely enough, the other said it was an unfinished project that was about to be completed. He took off his mask to reveal some lipstick.

 

Ouma already knew about his boyfriend’s sister. This was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

 

“Usually girls are much more worthy. However, my sister said that a beautiful boy might suffice.”

 

The purple haired boy felt very uneasy. He was about to run until Shinguji grabbed his hair.

 

“Now now, we don’t need my project to be left unfinished. I want you to be a true masterpiece. Your eyes are very beautiful. Those amethyst eyes are very rare. I know you to be someone who’s never been in a relationship before ours. Even though you’ve been vulgar, I can tell that you’ve never felt pleasure before. You’re too pure. As white as your very own skin. Such an innocent soul...”

 

He grinned. “Sister would surely love you as much as I do. Of course, she wouldn’t mind if I marked you as ours.”

 

He started dragging the purple haired boy to the picture frame. He secured the wires onto Ouma’s wrists and ankles. The wires dug into his skin. Before much more could be done, an investigator burst in along with some police men. All of them aimed a gun at Shinguji.

 

The investigator narrowed his eyes.

 

“Shinguji Korekiyo, you are under arrest for murder.”

 

He looked over to Ouma who looked away in shame.

 

“A-add attempted assault to the crimes.”

 

Ouma could see the investigator’s determined state but when he looked into the golden eyes of the investigator, he saw pure fear.

 

Shinguji took out a pocket knife and went behind Ouma while placing the blade in on the hostage’s throat.

 

“I would hate to ruin a beauty such as yourself but as you can see i would have no choice.”

 

The investigator’s eyes widened with more fear than before. What were they supposed to do in this situation. Ouma hated how vulnerable he was. It was the worst feeling he ever felt.

 

Suddenly, the investigator held a hand up and started walking towards them.

 

“Let’s make a deal. Don’t hurt him and you’ll get to see a picture of him everyday.”

 

Is he stupid?! Of course Shinguji wouldn’t go for such a deal!

 

“Did you think that this would stop me?”

 

The investigator’s fear grew into anxiety and courage.

 

“No...”

 

Then he lunged for Shinguji and disarmed him. Ouma felt a little bit of blood dripping down.

 

“FIRE!”, the investigator yelled.

 

“But!”, an officer protested.

 

“FIRE!”

 

They did as told and aimed for Shinguji. They managed to hit him but didn’t fatally injure him. The investigator was shot but could still stand.

 

It took a while for them to take Shinguji away. The investigator ran over to Ouma and released him. The smaller boy collapsed into the other’s arms.

 

“Hey, did he do anything else to you?”

 

Ouma was overall speechless. The huge mess of emotions didn’t hit him until now. All he could do was shake his head. The investigator nodded to him and wrapped his coat around Ouma until they made it out.

 

The purple haired boy sat at the station while trying to process everything. The overwhelming fear and betrayal left him to wish he was never born. Tears started falling at last.

 

The investigator came around and handed Ouma’s phone to him.

 

“Here, you should call someone to pick you up. I hope you’re going to be ok.”

 

Ouma nodded and called the first person he could truly trust.

 

When the other picked up, Ouma talked with a shaky voice.

 

“P-please pick me up at the p-police station near the w-warehouse.”

 

After that conversation, the investigator gave a look of sympathy. “You’ll be ok.”

 

But oh how wrong that investigator was...

 

That event made the walls even thicker than before. The only person he trusted was Komaeda. In fact, his crush on Komaeda had intensified.

 

Enoshima was someone he met in middle school. They’ve been friends for a bit but he didn’t feel that she brought down the walls enough but he appreciated her attitude.

 

That was until Saihara entered the picture. The dark haired boy seemed so familiar, yet Ouma has never seen him before. After the two of them got to know each other, Ouma realized why.

 

One afternoon, Saihara received a call from his uncle. After hanging up, Ouma looked at the phone wallpaper. It was a picture of Saihara and his uncle. The realization came up so suddenly. Saihara’s uncle was the investigator!

 

The similarities lined up too well. Their eyes were so similar. So very similar indeed.

 

He had grown more interested in Saihara. The feelings he felt for Komaeda vanished. They were replaced by the affection for Saihara.

 

Saihara...

 

Back in reality, Ouma was crying. He didn’t know how to stop it all. The boy underneath him was terrified.

 

Ouma stood up and backed away.

 

The boy glared at him but didn’t run.

 

“Kirie, what’s going on?”

 

Ouma shook his head.

 

“I’m not Kirie.”

 

“Then who are you?”

 

“Do you know Komaeda Nagito?”

 

“Of course I know him.”

 

“No...you don’t _know_ him. He was my best friend. He was my brother!”

 

The high schooler’s eyes widened with a tinge of fear.

 

“You were trying to kill me because of what I said?!”

 

“No! I wasn’t trying to kill you! I don’t want to kill anyone.”

 

“Says the guy who swung a knife at me.”

 

“I’ve lost everyone I loved. You don’t know how that feels. If Kirie died, wouldn’t you feel angry if someone said that she was trouble?”

 

The guy showed guilt. “Look, I wasn’t trying to say that he was worthless. It’s just an act...ok? I didn’t mean it.”

 

The boy sighed. He took the knife and held a hand out for Ouma. “You’re nuts for trying to kill me but you’re an interesting guy.”

 

They sat down at the gates.

 

Ouma talked a little bit about his past regarding Komaeda and Saihara but never went too deep into it.

 

“I wish I could see them both again.”

 

How messed up. He gave up so much to the point where he’s giving away personal information. He just couldn’t bring himself to care anymore.

 

“Ryuchi, who’s that?”

 

Ouma looked up to see a girl. She looked a lot like him in small ways.

 

Her eyes widened. “No...are you, Kokichi?”

 

“Kirie...”, the name came out quieter than he expected.

 

She then burst into tears and hugged him. He tensed up.

 

“Kokichi! I’m so sorry for leaving you behind! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

 

“You know this guy?!”, Ryuchi exclaimed.

 

She stood up. “Remember when I said that I had an adopted brother? This is Kokichi Ouma. I lived with him before I ran away...”

 

Ouma had a bit of resentment but kept that to himself.

 

“I’d love to catch up but right now isn’t a good time. I’ll get going.”

 

Kirie frowned. “Seriously? After finally reuniting this is what you-,”

 

“You’re the one who ran away ok?! I’ve had enough of life. You expect a warm embrace after that? I’m going through things you could never imagine!”

 

Ryuchi growled. “Don’t yell at my girlfriend!”

 

Ouma had enough. His face went red with rage.

 

“I think she deserves to feel some sort of guilt! She left me! She left me to rot with them.”

 

Kirie looks away. “There’s not a day that goes by without the thought of you. I’m really sorry.”

 

“Sorry won’t make the cut.”, he spat.

 

Before either of the couple could say anything, Ouma started walking away.

 

“Keep the knife.”

 

The two were frozen in place.

 

Ouma looked back at them.

 

“By the way...it’s Kokichi Saihara.”

 

. . .

 

Ouma’s world had crumbled apart. Kirie, another person in his life he trusted, had left him long ago. He felt slight guilt for yelling at her but the feeling of exhaustion overshadowed it.

 

“Shuichi, Nagito...please tell me what to do with myself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the whole Kirie thing seems so out of nowhere but trust me, she’ll play an important part later.


	11. Hopeless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to check up on Komaeda today...how...nice...
> 
> It seems Hinata and Ouma are going through a state of sanity slipping. Will anything be achieved? Or will it all be hopeless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of angst lots of angst!

Komaeda had no idea what to do. The idea of literal darkness with no sign of life was scarier than he’d imagined.

 

Hopeless...

 

It was all hopeless...

 

Hopelesshopelesshopelesshopelesshopeless

 

Komaeda laughed to himself. Hopeless? Not quite the word he was thinking of. Despair would fit much better. Saihara died for nothing. Ouma was never going to be happy again. Hinata...would be better off without him.

 

How hopeless.

 

Shinguji came in every now and then with some disturbing monologues. Other than the long haired male, nobody else visited. He felt so alone.

 

The isolation from society was really driving him insane. Since when had he been obsessed with hope? Who knows? The albino laughs to himself a lot during these moments. Soon, the laughter turns into loud sobbing. After all his tears ran out, he screamed.

 

Those nights were always long.

 

One day in particular, a certain woman came in. Her voice was too familiar.

 

“Ah, it’s good to see you’re up.”

 

There was something sinister about the way she said it.

 

Komaeda’s sanity had slipped away into the darkest corner of his mind. He chuckled at her and then spat at her feet.

 

“Oh? I can’t believe that somebody would care about whether this piece of trash is awake or not.”, he sneered.

 

She didn’t say a word until, “You’ll definitely regret that you know.”

 

A light was switched on and now he saw very clearly who he was dealing with.

 

Komaeda flinched away. He felt a mixture of fear and nothingness.

 

“Junko? So I was right. I told them only you could do such cruel things.”

 

“Oh you flatter me. I’m glad I left such an imprint.”

 

The albino tilted his head and glared at her from his sitting position. “Get to the point already.”

 

“Impatient, are we? Well, good news for you. You’re going to be my new servant.”

 

He scoffed. “I’d rather die.”

 

She crouched down to his level and pointed a gun at him.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Go ahead and-,”

 

She laughed. “What if I told you that it’s for the sake of hope? I forgot to drop Togami off and Saihara is still alive you know? If you serve under me long enough then I won’t kill them. Not to mention, if I let Saihara go, Ouma will live a happy life.”

 

Komaeda was skeptical. “Where’s your proof? Show me that they’re alive.”

 

Enoshima grinned. “Very well then.”

 

She left the room for a minute.

 

Komaeda’s head was spinning.

 

Hopeless...hopeless...Saihara...hopeful?

 

He already knew what he wanted. He wanted everyone to live a happy life without him.

 

If he saw them for himself...

 

. . .

 

Hinata didn’t know why he was at Nanami’s house. She was his main source of comfort.

 

Love hurts.

 

He sat near her with tired eyes. He tried getting into contact with Ouma but the other boy was nowhere to be found. There wasn’t a single word from him. Apparently he stopped coming to work for a few days.

 

Hinata looked at the food in front of him and pushed it away. Nanami didn’t seem fazed by this.

 

“Hajime, if you don’t eat, you’re going to die.”

 

“Sorry, I just don’t feel like eating right now.”

 

She sat down beside him. “I know Nagito is gone now. I wish he was still alive but he wouldn’t want you to be like this.”

 

The brunette looked away. “I know,”

 

Right now, he craved affection from his lover. He wanted his significant other to hold him close and tell him that nothing bad will happen.

 

“Nothing bad will happen anymore. I promise that we’ll find whoever did this and stop them.”

 

Hinata stared into her eyes. Right now something about them were just like Komaeda’s. They were full of hope and misery.

 

He reached out but stopped.

 

No, this wasn’t what he wanted. He loved Komaeda. Nobody could ever replace him. Those feelings that just rose up weren’t because of Nanami. They could never be. It was the idea of her being Komaeda.

 

His thoughts became scrambled. What was the point?

 

He felt a hand on his shoulder. When Hinata got ahold of himself, he thought he saw a wisp of white but really, it was just his mind playing tricks on him. His sudden detachment must’ve been what made her worry.

 

“Hajime? Are you ok?”

 

“No...”

 

Hinata looked at her one more time before standing up. “I’m going to visit someone.”

 

. . .

 

Ouma’s reality was already twisted. In fact, he was certain that he was going mad.

 

He stared into the eyes of another purple eyed boy.

 

“Why are you so sad?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“You know how used to it you are.”

 

Silence...

 

“I don’t get it. Why don’t you go outside? There are lots of people out there. You can make lots of friends.”

 

Silence...

 

Something shifted. The other boy’s eyes became duller.

 

“How pathetic. You don’t need friends. You knew what was going to happen the moment you became friends with him.”

 

“Don’t act like you’re above me”, Ouma spat in response.

 

“Why not? It’s not like I’m being above you. I am you. I thought you already saw this coming. Everyone hates you now.”

 

Ouma stood up but it shifted again. This time the eyes were much brighter but hid grief and suffering.

 

“Hmmm? What’s this? I can’t believe you’re letting this get to you! It is pathetic you know. I was always right about that. You’re right. Going outside won’t help if you aren’t ready to bring up your walls. Put on a facade. Don’t let it get to you. Sure everyone will act hostile to you but who cares? As long as you have fun, right?”

 

Ouma stared as deep as he could into the eyes of the other. “Don’t lie to yourself.”

 

“Lie? But that’s everything I’m about! That’s everything I am! A lie!”

 

“Shut up! There are liars who lie for themselves and liars who are just cowards! You are a coward! I was a coward. Look at me and tell me the truth!”

 

Silence...

 

“Hm, I suppose you know where you are in life right now, but isn’t it better to just lie to yourself?”

 

There was some hint of genuine sadness as the eyes shifted for the last time. Ouma stared back at himself. A broken reflection with teary eyes stared back. He was going mad wasn’t he?

 

Ouma laughed to himself. He was laying on the floor in front of a broken glass cup.

 

What was this? Was it just a hallucination of himself during one of his weakest moments?

 

The youngest, most naive side of him...

 

The slightly older, but most miserable side of him.

 

The oldest of them who had tried to cover everything with lies.

 

Then there was Ouma, the one who wanted to hope but couldn’t.

 

. . .

 

Hinata stood in front of the door. It was Saihara and Ouma’s home but now maybe neither have been occupying the house.

 

Momota insisted on coming with him to give Ouma a piece of his mind.

 

Nobody answered when they rung the doorbell. Momota even tried calling out for him but no sign of life.

 

Hinata sighed and got ready to bust through the door. Momota nodded. The brunette knocked the door down successfully and looked around.

 

He noticed a foul smell of trash coming from the kitchen and spotted some broken glass.

 

There was a sense of urgency now.

 

The both of them ran in and almost yelped as soon as they saw what was in front of them.

 

Ouma was lying on the cold tiles next to a broken cup. His arm was sliced but the cut wasn’t deep. Momota went to see if he had a pulse and sighed in relief.

 

The small male tried sitting up. With his hoarse voice, he spoke. “What do you want?”

 

Hinata was about to take his phone out to call an ambulance but Ouma threw a glass shard at his hand, nearly missing it.

 

“Sheesh! You could’ve hit him!”, Momota yelled.

 

Hinata glared at the both of them.

 

“Kokichi, we’re taking you to your room, ok?”

 

There was no response.

 

. . .

 

Ouma laughed at them after drinking some water.

 

“I never expected-,”

 

“Shut up, ok? We’re here to talk about Shuichi and Nagito.”, Momota cut him off.

 

“What is there to say about them? They’re dead. Move on.”

 

Hinata held the other’s shoulders with a strong grip. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that their deaths mean nothing to you.”

 

Ouma grimaced but looked directly into the other’s eyes.

 

“They mean nothing to me. They’re just my source of entertainment!”

 

“You and I both know that you just told the most outrageous lie out there. Just admit to me that something has affected you. If you want to truly move on then come face to face with the truth.”

 

“Such a hypocrite! You haven’t moved on yet!”

 

As the volume grew, more tension between them choked the atmosphere.

 

“At least I’m actually trying! All you’re doing is building barriers again. Do you want to just repeat the past? Do you think Nagito would want this? Shuichi?”

 

Suddenly things got silent.

 

“No”

 

That was the most honest answer Ouma had given as of late.

 

“I don’t think any of them want me to repeat this. I don’t want to either. Do I really need to say it? You already saw it all. You saw that it affected me.”

 

Momota stepped in. “We know but you’re supposed to come to terms with it. Look, if I lost Maki, then I might act a little bit like you, but even though I would see it, I would have to accept it, you know?”

 

Hinata nodded.

 

“What am I supposed to do then? Without them, I’m nothing.”

 

“Kokichi, you and I are going through the same thing. I get that this is your way of coping but we need to change. We need to really accept and move on. I will never forget what either of them meant to me but at least I’ll be at peace.”, Hinata answered.

 

Momota sat down beside him.

 

“You’re lucky, you had Shuichi by your side. He’s a great guy. Now that he’s dead I want to punch whoever shot him. For now though, let’s just be happy he was even alive.”

 

Ouma looked down. “Hey, Hajime...”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Can you...ugh no nevermind...”

 

“Go on, tell me.”

 

“Can you help me find them?”, he mumbled near the end.

 

“What?”

 

“I know they’re dead but...I want to find their bodies at least.”

 

Hinata was about to protest but paused. “I’ll see what I can do, but first, you have to take care of yourself. I’m not letting you die from malnutrition.”

 

“Fine...but once I recover, you have to help me.”

 

“Alright, you have my word for it.”

 

Momota smiled to himself. “At least we’re getting somewhere. I’m sure Maki’s waiting for me. I’ll see you later.”

 

He headed out. Once Momota left, Ouma closed his eyes.

 

“Oddly enough, I still hope Nagito and Shuichi are alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might’ve notice that Kirie isn’t mentioned at all...I wonder why...
> 
> Luckily Ouma and Hinata are getting better?


	12. Long days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this!

Komaeda scoffed to himself. His eyes narrowed.

 

Enoshima was right in front of him with a chained leash. Tsumiki was standing next to her with a syringe.

 

“So you’re going to treat me like a dog?”

 

The blonde laughed. “Oh sweetie, didn’t you know about my desires to have you beneath my feet at last? I want Kokichi so badly now. His purple eyes, purple hair, pale skin...ah it makes me want to get him right now.”

 

“Don’t touch him. It’s not worth it.”

 

“Oh darling, you forget...to me, he’s worth everything.”

 

. . .

 

Ouma forgot how it felt like to be back. He wasn’t all better by any means, but knowing that maybe there was a chance of the other two being alive, his heart jumped.

 

Still, he saw with his very own eyes that they died. He couldn’t let that hope take over. That didn’t stop him from feeling slightly happier though. Of course he kept his logical side working, making him more hostile than before.

 

The moment he stepped in, everyone felt intimidated by the gremlin. He was showing his more serious side but gave a smirk every time someone asked about his whereabouts.

 

It just seemed like one of the normal days again. Ouma slacks off, someone calls him a hypocrite, he retaliates with some valid points.

 

Hinata was wondering why this was happening. Was Ouma just avoiding the topic of Komaeda and Saihara? No it can’t be. He saw the shorter boy looking wistfully towards a room Saihara occupied before the entire incident. It was a complete mystery why he was acting so cheerful. Was he trying to move on?

 

The brunette didn’t know for sure.

 

“Kokichi, what’s up with you?”, Hinata asked during their lunch break. Ouma was teasing another girl about being clumsy before stopping.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Why are you so happy?”

 

The shorter boy looked around quickly before frowning. “You’re the only one I’ll tell. You better feel honored.”

 

Hinata rolled his eyes.

 

“I’m not happy.”

 

“Then why?”

 

“Bare with the pain. There’s no use trying to dwell on the past and showing everyone your vulnerable side. I still stand by that. I don’t want pity from them. I just want some sort of resolution in my life so I can move on.”

 

Hinata understood perfectly.

 

“Let’s deal with this grief together, ok? I know I’m not that close to you but, I want us to try working together just this once. After maybe years of trying...maybe it’ll be enough for us to just let go and move towards different goals.”

 

Ouma sighed.

 

“Fine.”

 

. . .

 

Saihara dealt with his pain in silence. He wouldn’t let himself fall into this despair. He had to stay strong for Ouma. The one person he loved but couldn’t ever see again. What was the point? Saihara wanted to stay strong so he could at least try to find Ouma again.

 

His resolve was firm.

 

Survive long enough to try.

 

That’s when the door was opened. Tsumiki walked in with a piece of duct tape. She was drooling while putting it on Saihara’s mouth.

 

“You have to stay quiet for my beloved.”

 

He didn’t make a move of protest. There had to be some sort of strategy to overcome this. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fight. There’s a pretty good chance she can just pull a gun on him. Tsumiki blindfolded him so that he couldn’t figure out the layout. He heard a door unlock and was pushed in. There was a gasp coming from the other side of the room.

 

“Shuichi?”

 

The dark haired boy knew immediately who it was. Tsumiki removed the tape from his mouth.

 

“Nagito? I thought I pushed you into the water!”

 

The other didn’t say a word but Saihara could tell that he was disappointed.

 

“Shinguji found me.”

 

It was one of those moments he wanted to spit fire. Shinguji was part of the reason Komaeda was here. Shinguji was the reason Ouma became more broken than before.

 

Komaeda sighed. “I’m glad you’re not dead. I’m so sorry you have to suffer like this.”

 

“I chose to do this.”

 

“But Kokichi...”

 

“Kokichi will find us. I know he will. So will Hajime.”

 

“I hope so. I don’t want to know what’s going on with them.”

 

A witch like laughter filled the room.

 

“Looks like visiting hours are over! Nagitooooo! You know our deal, right?”

 

Saihara was about to ask about this deal but Tsumiki put the duct tape back on his mouth. She led him away before he could hear anything.

 

. . .

 

Ouma was getting a headache. He wish he had some medication for it. The facade he put up was especially tiring today. Yeah, he didn’t want to rely on that side of him but there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with that right now.

 

He left early and found himself lost. He didn’t care that he probably wouldn’t be found. To him, that was perfectly fine. Maybe he’d join Komaeda. Maybe he’d join Saihara.

 

Ouma saw a familiar girl on the phone. Her purple eyes and violet hair was almost identical to his own.

 

Kirie saw him and made her way over.

 

“Kokichi! You look way too sick to be out here.”

 

“Shut up will you?”

 

Kirie wasn’t at all fazed as she dragged him to an apartment area. She fished some keys out of her purse and entered her home.

 

Immediately, Ouma could smell cinnamon coming through the kitchen.

 

“Mona! Are you feeling better?”

 

Ouma heard a little girl’s voice coming from a bedroom.

 

“Kiri, you know what my answer is right?”

 

The purple haired girl laughed. “Get some rest, Mona.”

 

Kirie went into the kitchen to prepare some tea.

 

Ouma sat down on the couch and sighed.

 

His anger towards Kirie disappeared due to exhaustion. It was getting colder everyday. The winter was coming soon. With that, plus the stress, he was getting more tired.

 

“So what have you been doing after running away?”

 

She stopped for a moment before resuming her tea making.

 

“I met a wonderful girl and her family took me in. I moved here a while ago with my roommate Mona. Ryuchi is a pretty nice guy and that’s why I started dating him.”

 

She sat down next to him and gave him a cup of tea.

 

“Don’t tell him I said this but, I don’t actually like him. I only dated him because I don’t want to break his heart. I actually have a crush on the girl who saved me.”

 

“And her name is?”

 

Kirie paused again.

 

“I’d rather not say. It brings me bad memories. Still, I love calling her Ryo.”

 

Ouma shrugged. He got up. “Is the high school near here?”

 

“Yeah, just a couple blocks down, why?”

 

“I’m going home.”

 

He left his half empty cup on the counter.

 

After he closed the door, Kirie laughed.

 

“Oh Mona, I feel so guilty for everything I’ve done for him. I wish I could rewind time. Let’s go visit Ryoko ok?I have to give her some news.”

 

A little girl walked out from the room. She tied her green hair into pigtails.

 

“Okay, Kirie...er...Mukuro.”

 

Said girl cleared her throat.

 

“I’m really tired of this act but if it’s for Junko, I’ll do it.”

 

Her eyes were full of nothing but despair.

 

“I haven’t heard you use the name Ryoko in a long time!”

 

“I have to be careful with how I speak, Monaca.”

 

The little girl giggled. “How long will it be until he realizes who actually died?”

 

Mukuro shrugged. “He probably wouldn’t know unless he tested the blood from the organs. Isn’t it really great how we managed to steal all of the evidence back before they tested it? Junko really is a genius.”

 

Monaca rolled her eyes. “Whatever...I’ve been meaning to ask though.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“If it wasn’t your body that exploded then whose was it?”

 

This time it was Mukuro’s turn to roll her eyes.

 

“Isn’t it obvious? The body belonged to the real Kirie.”

 

“You’re cruel. Wait until Ryuchi finds out you’re not his precious Kirie.”

 

The other shrugs.

 

“He doesn’t matter right now. Besides,” Mukuro grabbed a camera. “I’ve got a few more pictures to take for Junko.”

 

. . .

 

Hinata, Momota, Harukawa, and Nanami were eating dinner together. They wanted to invite the others but Akamatsu and Amami were in Europe. Souda, Sonia, and Tanaka also did their thing. Unfortunately, just about everyone had plans.

 

The dinner itself was still lively, almost as if the events from a couple months ago never happened. Of course it was still a thing in the back of people’s minds but the past is in the past. Hinata wanted to say something about Komaeda but he knew that it would ruin the atmosphere. It almost seems like the albino has been forgotten.

 

Nanami looked at Hinata with a knowing expression. Harukawa kept quiet about the obvious and continued some small talk to keep Momota busy. The latter had noticed the whole thing but continued to act oblivious.

 

Hinata excused himself from the table and went to the restroom. Nanami followed him worriedly.

 

“Hajime, what’s wrong?”

 

“I...I love Nagito but for some reason I just can’t feel the motivation to find him...no...I know why I can’t feel it. He’s already dead.”

 

“Hajime...”

 

“It’s been two months since that day. There’s no way he’s alive.”

 

Nanami put a hand on his shoulder.

 

Hinata knew he just shouldn’t do this. He knew that it wasn’t right. It was unfaithful, but he had to move on. This was the only way.

 

He did the unthinkable and smashed his lips into hers. There was something desperate and forceful about it.

 

The girl jumped in shock, clearly not feeling the same way about him. Hinata pulled back. It didn’t feel good but that kiss was enough to partially fill some sort of hole.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t...”

 

Nanami shook her head. “You’re still grieving. It’s only natural.”

 

She thought about her next words carefully. She didn’t have any romantic feelings for him but knew that maybe it would help a little.

 

“If you really want to...we can start dating for as long as you want until you feel better. That is, if you’re ok with that.”

 

It sounded so fake to the both of them. Hinata still seemed grateful anyways.

 

“Thanks Chiaki.”

 

She nodded. There was now pure guilt eating away at her.

 

“I’m sorry Nagito.”

 

. . .

 

Souda walked alone. The other two wanted some alone time so Souda made an excuse to leave them be. The pink haired male looked at the sky as he walked home, dejected. The whole Komaeda situation had been bugging him for a bit. He didn’t exactly like the albino but he felt pretty bad for him.

 

Souda thought that things were pretty boring. Suddenly, he felt pain and went unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case the whole Kirie timeline is a little confusing, basically the body that was thought to be Enoshima’s was actually Kirie’s and the organs were also Kirie’s. I think this weird twist might’ve been revealed to soon because I wanted it to be revealed during a future event but I changed my mind because I want people to scream, “don’t trust Kirie!”
> 
> I also wanted to add some more questions to the equation. “Why was she even killed? Why was she ever important in the first place?”
> 
> There’s more to come in the future!


	13. Warehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ouma wants to find out everything but it all backfired on him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double chapter?! I just feel like this shorter but important chapter is best placed separately from the previous chapter

Ouma saw an injured Kirie at his door. On her arm, there were bloody cuts that formed coordinates and a phone number.

 

She described her attacker to be her height and masked.

 

That wasn’t a lot to go by. He took her to the police station to file a report. Her wounds were cleaned and taken care of while the others searched up things about the number and coordinate.

 

Hinata recognized it to be Souda’s number.

 

He immediately called.

 

“Hajime! You have to help me! Get Kokichi now!”

 

The purple haired boy was already there.

 

“What happened?! Why is your number sliced into Kirie’s arm?!”

 

“Look, dude. Togami’s alive! Nagito and Shuichi are alive too! The people who took me want you to go to some sort of warehouse. If you bring anyone else then all of us will die! Look, I don’t want to die! They’re holding a gun to my head, man!”

 

Fujisaki tried tracing the call but it failed. The coordinates led to a warehouse close to a police station. Ishimaru called the other station but nobody responded.

 

Everything just seemed to go wrong for them.

 

Ouma ran to his car and started the engine. Kirie saw this and went into the passenger seat.

 

“What are you doing?! Get out! If you come with me then we’re all dead!”

 

“Shut up! I know a short cut! Just take me along, ok? I swear to you that I’ll stay in the car. I won’t leave you! I won’t leave you like I did before!”

 

“This is a complete different situation! Are you an idiot?!”

 

“We’re wasting time right now!”

 

Ouma started driving as quickly as possible, disobeying all speed limits.

 

Hinata growled and got in his own car, going after the other two.

 

Ouma was driving like a madman with adrenaline. Komaeda’s alive? Saihara’s alive? That was his only motivation to accelerate. Kirie seemed to be holding on for her life.

 

“Isn’t this too fast?”

 

“It’s worth it!”

 

They were ahead of Hinata by miles because of their speed.

 

. . .

 

Ouma finally stopped the car at a location he knew all too well. The warehouse brought him terrible memories but he would go in no matter how much it hurts.

 

“Go to the police station. Remember to contact someone if you see anything wrong.”, Ouma instructed Kirie. The girl nodded and ran towards the station.

 

Ouma grabbed a gun and shivered. He entered cautiously into the warehouse.

 

It was too dark to see anything but once the lights were switched on, he saw a horrific sight. Saihara was tied and gagged. He was on his knees while an all too familiar face pointed a gun at the hostage.

 

Komaeda, Togami, and Souda were nowhere to be found.

 

Tears started falling.

 

The witch herself laughed.

 

“Kokichi! Put down the gun and I’ll hand him over.”

.

.

.

 

“What do you want?”

 

Saihara squirmed. His eyes widened and tried to warn his husband.

 

She smiled.

 

“I want you!”

 

Someone pulled the trigger. It wasn’t him or Enoshima.

 

Ouma screamed in agony as he fell to the ground. His back was full of pain and blood.

 

He turned his head and saw Kirie with a sickening expression. No...since when did Kirie have freckles? His shock rendered him useless.

 

There was another gunshot but it wasn’t aimed at him. Instead, Kirie was tackled by an albino.

 

He could hear the girl shoot her attacker. Everything was blurry. What just happened? Suddenly he heard many gunshots fill the warehouse. Before he fully lost consciousness, he felt someone’s lips on his cheek.

 

“I’m sorry Kokichi.”

 

The purple haired boy recognized that voice.

 

“Na..gi..”

 

Nothing made any sense to him.

 

The last thing he saw were golden eyes.


	14. Despair’s aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of that night takes a toll on a few people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don’t want to read the amputation part then please skip the end. There will be a warning right before the event.

The hospital was as plain as it could be. Saihara sighed. It had been a couple weeks since the rescue. He paid for all of the driving laws Ouma broke.

 

The heart monitor was the only thing Saihara could look at without feeling regretful. It just wasn’t right for his husband to be in a coma. His unmoving body laid there, almost like a corpse. The usually spontaneous and mischievous Ouma was unable to even wake up. When Ouma slept, it was a peaceful and pretty cute thing to see. When he’s comatose on the other hand, he seems so endlessly trapped in a world of unhappiness.

 

Saihara kissed Ouma’s head before getting up.

 

“I love you, Kokichi.”

 

. . .

 

Hinata felt his head spin. He thought he saw Komaeda. When he arrived at the warehouse, there was a gunshot. He had assumed that Ouma had shot someone but once he got in, he saw immediately what was happening.

 

The purple haired boy was on the ground due to a bullet and had hit his head hard on the ground. Kirie turned around and almost shot Hinata but a familiar albino pushed her. Due to this interference, she shot her attacker’s arm.

 

A few other policemen arrived at the scene and drew their guns out. The albino looked up and suddenly their eyes met. Hinata’s brain went to a full stop. He held his hand up to signal, not to shoot.

 

Komaeda...was alive?

 

Of course this revelation both mystified and brought joy to him. Before he could say anything, Enoshima shot an officer, severely injuring him. The gun fight resumed.

 

With teary eyes, Komaeda ran to Ouma. Everyone tensed up from the sudden movement. The albino kissed Ouma on the cheek and was kicked to the ground by Kirie. Everyone brought their guns up.

 

Enoshima laughed maniacally. “Oh, boy! Isn’t this just tense!”

 

That’s when Hinata saw something odd.

 

Komaeda had a chained leash and collar around his throat. That twisted witch...

 

Kirie yanked the chain and put on a gas mask. Enoshima got and identical mask and put it up to her face. In moments, gas was released from the ceiling, fogging up everyone’s vision. Saihara managed to escape his bindings and worriedly ran to his husband.

 

When the room cleared up, Komaeda, Kirie, and Enoshima were gone.

 

The gas affected everyone in different ways. Someone had called the paramedics a bit earlier so they should be here soon.

 

Only one of the hostages were recovered that night. Saihara had been questioned about everything that happened but the male never answered due to his focus on Ouma’s health. They all decided to give him a break.

 

The poison wasn’t as deadly as they had thought but it was enough to put everyone in a tranced state. Hinata was the most affected by this. Komaeda survived? Komaeda is still alive? He...isn’t dead.

 

The effects wore off the next morning. That didn’t mean a thing to the brunette. He was out of it for the week.

 

Nanami took care of him during that time period. Hinata continued the relationship because as long as Komaeda was missing, he would never be able to go without affection. Was he addicted to love? Maybe...

 

His mental breakdowns each day brought more guilt to the relationship because they knew Komaeda was alive.

. . .

The pain was unbearable. Komaeda’s arm hurt more than anything in the world. It grew an infection after being exposed to the poison. The wound was left untreated for the most part aside from the lazy bandaging. Tsumiki frothed at the mouth while watching him struggle with his arm. She had planned to do surgery on the arm but deemed ogling at his utter despair much more important.

 

The nurse left when Enoshima called for her. As a result of rushing, she dropped two bloody knives.

 

Komaeda was of course chained to the wall but he could reach them with his foot. Maybe he could cut the chains off. Well, he’d need a good escape plan to go forward. The albino hid the knife in a growing crack in the wall.

 

His arm screamed at him with pain. It hurt too much to handle. What was even worse was the fact that Hinata saw him with a collar.

 

“He must think I’m filthy.”

 

. . .(Warning! Amputation)

 

Over the next few days, he spent his time thinking of ways to escape. The tiny window was far too small to fit through but the wall around it was starting to crumble. He knew part of the layout due to his deal with Enoshima but he couldn’t find any plausible exits.

 

Besides, he was on a boat. There was no way he’d survive out there. It was all hopeless from the start. Enoshima had a plan to go over to Europe and ransom Togami. Souda was nowhere to be found but the albino heard that Enoshima was forcing him to build something.

 

Komaeda wanted to scream. His arm hurt too much. That was when the idea struck him. At this point, he was desperate. The albino pulled the knife out and studied it for a moment. He tore off a sleeve of his jacket and tied it around his arm. After that, he started biting the unsanitary chain to prepare for the pain.

 

His heartbeat was louder than ever as he raised the knife above his head. Komaeda prepared himself for the incoming pain. Swinging the knife down, he only made it through half the bone. Even as agonizing as it was, Komaeda raised the knife again.

 

Everything hurts. Everything just hurts too much.

 

He bit down on the chain and brought the knife down again.

 

This time, the skin was the only thing attaching arm.

 

Komaeda screamed. He screamed so loudly Shinguji came in. The latter smirked under his mask.

 

“Oh? Isn’t this interesting?”

 

Komaeda was paler than before, making him look more like a corpse.


	15. Memories of nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time has passed, and everyone is still feeling down. Komaeda gains a new life with a different world.

How long has it been since that event? Two years? Yes, two years...

 

Hinata stressed himself out. Togami was back safe after the ransom. Souda and Komaeda were still missing, possibly dead. Nothing on this case was ever mentioned again.

 

Ouma was still unable to come back from his coma. Doctors suspected that the poison had something to do with it. Saihara was devastated over this but refused to pull the plug as he was willing to pay for all medical expenses.

 

Hinata was in a state of depression and apathy. Nanami was the only person who made him feel slightly better. Fujisaki occasionally helps out too.

 

Due to this, Hinata worked at a bookstore where there wasn’t too much to do.

 

The brunette was having a slow day until a girl went up to the counter with a novel in her hand. Hinata was about to do his usual thing and scan the book but stopped when he saw the cover.

 

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc by Komaeda Nagito

 

The girl tilted her head. “Is something wrong?”

 

Hinata shook his head but figured that he could tell her since right now nobody was in line to buy anything.

 

“I personally knew the author pretty well.”

 

She widened her eyes. “Really? That’s cool! My friends told me to read one of his books, so I decided to buy one. Do you think I could talk to Komaeda?”

 

Hinata stiffened.

 

“I’m afraid not. He went missing two years ago and it’s unlikely he’s alive.”

 

Her shoulders dropped. “That’s sad...I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

 

“Don’t worry about it.”

 

The brunette smiled and scanned the book. “He’s a good author. I’m sure that he’d love to meet you if he were here now.”

 

“Wow, that’s nice! Thank you!”, she said as she paid. The girl left the bookstore.

 

The fact that people still read Komaeda’s books brought a little bit of joy.

 

“Hey, Nagito, if you’re listening, do you think you can give some sort of miracle?”

 

. . .

 

Saihara sat down with another bouquet of flowers.

 

“Today went by pretty slowly for me. Of course it probably feels like nothing to you.”

 

He got nothing in return.

 

“I know I keep saying this over and over again even though it’s been two years but I’ll say it for as long as you’re sleeping. I’m proud of you for going into that warehouse again. I love you a lot.”

 

There was no response.

 

“I hope you wake up soon.”

 

Another day goes by with no signs of waking up. Saihara didn’t give up any hope though. He had faith in his husband. Kokichi wouldn’t want to be left behind.

 

Saihara spends many nights thinking about the case. He wondered why Enoshima lied that one time...

 

. . .

 

Enoshima was living the dream of a luxurious European life. She was treated like an absolute queen despite her flaws.

 

“Nagi!”

 

She called out to her most broken servants. Her favorite servant was the head of all servants.

 

Komaeda walked through what appears to be a throne room. His entire person has changed drastically from the way he dresses to the way he acts.

 

His skin was pale and thin. His hair grew whiter than before. Komaeda had gotten skinnier and bonier with each day because of his malnourishment. The prettiest thing to Enoshima was his eyes. One had been covered by bandages while the other held a cold, dull, and glassy look. On his neck was a chained collar. The albino’s outfit ranged from a fancy suit to nothing but rags. On this particular day, he was wearing a dusty old jacket with a pair of jeans.

 

The most important thing to note, was his arm. Ever since he cut it off, it has been painful. He had gotten a temporary prosthetic arm to get used to.

 

Shinguji had abused him long enough for the bruises to stay for long periods of time. The long haired individual had gone insane about finding Ouma, and took it all out on Komaeda.

 

Because of all the trauma, Komaeda had shifted in personalities. He had amnesia and could barely remember what his past life has been like. As far as he was told, he was born to be Enoshima’s servant. To him, his life had been twisted.

 

On certain days he would be icy to all the other slaves, becoming strict, uncaring, or lost. He was very harsh with punishments on those days and always sneered while looking down on them. Sometimes, he’s more lenient on the rules and lets everyone bend them. His lost days were filled with questions on his past.

 

Other days he would be very kind and sneak food to the ones beneath him. He’d act almost like a mother. There were times when he’d be delusional. That was usually when he rambles on hope.

 

How did he feel about Enoshima? He felt a mixture of intense hate and admiration. He didn’t know why he despised her, but sometimes it was overshadowed by a twisted love for her despair. She had hoped for despair. His feelings for her had been twisted, and that’s why they always feared him. Around her, he would either act obsessive for abuse or calm with no care in the world. He had rare moments of unexplainable rage. During those moments he would spit at her face and get punishments for it.

 

To say the least, he was unpredictable.

 

What had Enoshima called him in for? The strawberry blonde grinned.

 

“Nagi! You know I hate you, right?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know you do.”

 

She stepped down and kicked him to the ground. Enoshima placed her stiletto on his face.

 

“Don’t disrespect me now! I’ve grown to fond of you!”

 

She did her usual routines of beating him and enjoying his pain. Komaeda always wondered why she hated him so much, and yet show him affection. It was odd to him. Maybe that was her way of showing love. Maybe that is love. Love is the persistence of staying through the pain, right? This is love. This...is love? It felt wrong to think that, but somehow it also felt right. She was the only one who loved him.

 

Why did he feel like crying when thinking that? It was true. Junko is the only love he needs.

 

After the beatings, he was dismissed. Komaeda saw Tsumiki cower from him. He didn’t pay her any mind until he saw the person she was holding.

 

Ah, she was being a good slave and waited for her turn. The albino was confused when he looked at her. He heard from Mukuro that Tsumiki had lived with Enoshima much longer. Why was she treated like trash compared to him?

 

He knew his schedule. Once the beatings were done, he would spend time with Monaca. She was the nicest one, but he didn’t feel loved by her. The only one who loved him was Junko.

 

Still, before he went to Monaca’s room, he looked down at Tsumiki’s prisoner.

 

“We meet again Kazuichi.”

 

The pink haired man resisted the urge to scream. “Come on man! You and I aren’t that close, but you have to remember something! We’ve known each other for years! Hajime misses-,”

 

Tsumiki slapped him and pushed the mechanic in. She glared at Komaeda.

 

“There’s a reason you never guard him. He’s poisonous and trying to trick you into thinking your memories have anything to do with him. He’s trying to take advantage of your disadvantage.”

 

She walked into the throne room.

 

Komaeda was silent. Was what she said really true? Was his memory loss a disadvantage? He thought that it was his advantage since no memory of a conflict would get in the way of his love for Junko. The words ate away at him though. Kazuichi was lying, right? Who was Hajime? The albino felt strongly about that name. It struck something inside of him. Did he know a Hajime in his past?

 

The memories were too empty. He couldn’t leave his faith in Junko, but something from that past is reaching for him; if he didn’t reach back, he would regret it. At least, that’s what he thought.

 

He felt lost. Why was everyone keeping secrets? Why did he feel uncomfortable here. Why did he forget? Why was he here? Isn’t this his home?

 

Komaeda knocked on Monoca’s door.

 

“Hello?”

 

“It’s me, your servant.”

 

“Come in!”

 

None of those things mattered anyways, right? His family are, Junko, Mukuro, and Monaca. He and Shinguji were more like coworkers. Komaeda and Tsumiki were even colder. Still, they were part of his family, right?

 

Right?

 

He had his doubts, but they were the only family he ever knew.


	16. Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Komaeda’s personality isn’t exactly something normal and Saihara’s situation is tragic but there’s a sign of hope. Hinata and Nanami’s affair led them to a new miserable place.

Komaeda’s questions lingered on longer. Who were these people? He was trapped in a bubble of vague memories. Mukuro told him that he doesn’t want to remember the past due to some sort of trauma hitting him. That didn’t stop him from feeling lost.

 

During a meeting between Junko and a police officer, Komaeda wasn’t allowed to go anywhere near them. During their talk, another officer barged in and spotted Komaeda in the kitchen.

 

He spoke in a foreign language but understood his name being said. Mukuro walked in and shook her head while speaking the same foreign language.

 

He heard the name Jan Von Berg somewhere in there. The officer nodded and asked for Junko. Mukuro led him to the meeting room Junko occupied.

 

After a few hours, the men left. Mukuro hit Komaeda as punishment for being seen.

 

The question rose up. “Why did I have to hide? Why can’t I go out there? What are you hiding?”

 

The dark haired girl glared at him. “I know you’re one of Junko’s favorites, but you don’t get to look down on me. If you really wanted to know so badly the we’ll talk privately after your session with Shinguji.”

 

Komaeda nodded. “My apologies, I would be grateful for the aid.”

 

Later that day his personality changed to the iciest side of him.

 

A few slaves were messing around and accidentally bumped into him. His eyes narrowed.

 

“What are you doing out of your stations?”

 

They gulped. “Lady M-Monaca requested some food.”

 

The albino scoffed. “Lady Monaca already has people to look after her. There’s no need for you to be here.”

 

He walked towards the boys. “Do we need to go to Enoshima?”

 

“No sir!”

 

“Then get back to your stations.”, he said coldly.

 

The slaves muttered as they walked away.

 

“We’re lucky he’s not in that bad of a mood today.”

 

“I still hate him though. He just ruined our plans.”

 

“Yeah, we could’ve escaped.”

 

Komaeda glared at them. “I will report this to Enoshima if you don’t keep your mouths shut. You wouldn’t want that would you?”

 

They shivered. “No sir! Please don’t tell her! We’ll never do this ever again.”

 

Komaeda felt a change in him. He didn’t know why. Was it the joy of seeing despair? Was it his pity?

 

Either way, he changed.

 

“Aw, you must be very sad today.”

 

The servants were cautious. This personality could go two ways. It could be the mocking or the genuinely sweet side. They didn’t want to risk it.

 

The albino leaned in. “Hey, how about this? After dinner I’ll slip in a few extra scraps of food and let you go to the garden.”

 

Their eyes widened. “The garden? Are you for real?”

 

“Of course. I can get by with an excuse. If they find out, I’ll take the bullet for you, ok?”

 

“Yes please!”

 

The garden was a privilege. Very few servants ever get to see any beauty. Komaeda liked the garden since it gave him peace away from the torture. He was shocked to know that even Enoshima cared about beauty.The garden was also the only part of the outside world he would see.

 

Komaeda hummed as he sent them back to their stations with a pass.

 

“I think we misunderstood the guy. Maybe he does care but is kept by Enoshima too. Maybe he has a family he wants to escape to.”

 

The albino stopped on his tracks. Family? He was already with his family, right? He would never want to escape if he was already with them. They’ve completely misunderstood him now.

 

. . .

 

He was sitting by the door until he saw the servants again. They were still cautious in case he was in a bad mood.

 

Komaeda smiled. “Took you long enough,”

 

He unlocked the door to the garden.They opened their eyes to beautiful flowers.

 

The slaves ran around, observing every petal.

 

“Be careful with them. They’re delicate.”, he said softly.

 

He had forgotten of the meeting with Mukuro.

. . .

 

Saihara was still waiting. Kokichi was in his coma for an unbelievable amount of time.

 

“I’m so sorry, Kokichi. I wish I could’ve warned you sooner.”

 

Nothing...

 

“Kokichi, if you can hear me, please give me a sign.”

 

Saihara broke down in tears. There was only one thing he wished for and that was for his husband to wake up.

 

Visiting hours were over. Saihara said goodbye to the other. Before leaving, he placed a kiss on Kokichi’s forehead.

 

What he didn’t notice, was a twitch.

 

. . .

 

Hinata hoped with all of his heart that Nanami wasn’t pregnant. He had accepted that Komaeda might never be found again, but still held on to any hope. That didn’t stop his relationship with Nanami. He had gained genuine feelings for her and she willingly gave him her affection.

 

Now he was waiting. He was waiting for Nanami to tell him.

 

“Hajime...I can’t do this anymore.”, she stated. “I...I like someone else, and now I’m pregnant with your child.”

 

“You...you’re pregnant?”

 

“I am...”

 

“Who do you like?”

 

“I like...Izuru.”

 

Now this...this was the most shocking thing in all of Hinata’s existence, other than Komaeda even liking him.

 

“Ever since meeting him, he’s been helpful and kind to me even as scary as we all thought he was. I fell for him and we became a couple years ago. I couldn’t tell you because you were filled with so much grief. I made such a huge mistake. He knew about our relationship and decided to let it happen so that you would move on.”

 

Things just felt so wrong between them.

 

“I don’t know what he’ll think of me now that I’m pregnant. I don’t want him to get mad at you. It was an accident. It was such a huge accident.”

 

Hinata couldn’t just shut her out now. This wasn’t at all good.

 

“I’ll talk to him. You don’t have to.”

 

She nodded with sadness in her eyes.

 

Hinata called Izuru in fear. The suspense was built up too high.

 

“What do you need Hajime?”

 

“Izuru...you’re not going to like what I’m going to say, but please, it’s not Chiaki’s fault.”

 

“Did you get her pregnant?”

 

Hinata’s heart pounded. “I-I-I did...”

 

There was silence on the other end.

 

“I’m coming to your house.”

 

“Please don’t be mad at Chiaki. It was all my fault.”

 

The girl took the phone from him.

 

“It was my fault too, Hajime. I have to take responsibility for these things too. Izuru, you have every right to be mad at me.”

 

The dark haired male hung up.

 

“Why Chiaki?! Why did you do that?!”

 

“I don’t want you to suffer alone. I was just as involved in this as you are.”

 

They both had tears in their eyes.

 

Then, the doorbell was rung. Hinata opened the door, only to get punched in the face.

 

“We’re all going to sit down and talk about this.”, he said sternly.

 

All three of them sat on the couch in uncomfortable silence. Izuru was the first to speak. “So, Chiaki is pregnant?”

 

Hinata could tell that even though Izuru was keeping a calm face, he was glaring with intense fury.

 

“She is.”

 

“I am.”

 

“I’m not going to forgive you, Hajime.”

 

“I know.”

 

“Chiaki, how do you feel about our relationship?”

 

“I want to cherish it.”

 

“What are we going to do with the baby?”, Hinata asked.

 

Kamakura looked at Chiaki. “It’s your choice. I won’t force you to do anything.”

 

The girl looked down. “I want to keep it.”

 

Kamakura nodded. Hinata’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? This could change everything.”

 

“I know it can, but I want to keep the baby.” She put her hand on her stomach. “I know it’s going to be hard, but I won’t change my mind.”

 

Hinata gazed sadly at her. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be. It’s already been done.”

 

Kamakura sighed.

 

“Nanami, I think we may need some space.”

 

She gazed sadly at him. “I think so too.”

 

They got up and embraced each other before Kamakura left.


	17. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many heartbreaking things happen. Everyone changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Easily one of the worst chapters!

Komaeda felt burns on his back from the whipping. Mukuro was apparently very angry at him even if she didn’t show it.

 

The albino had seen the door handle turning so he decided to cover for the slaves by pushing into the flowerbeds. It turns out Mukuro loved to track him down sometimes.

 

The servants escaped and refused to say a word about the garden.

 

The next day happened the same way as many of the others. He felt boredom inside of him. Something was cracked and missing. He’d grown to rebellious. Komaeda regretted it and waited for Enoshima to be done with her meetings.

 

Once the last of the visitors left, Komaeda knocked on her door. She answered joyfully for him to come in.

 

Komaeda opened the door to find Junko in blood.

 

“Are you hurt, mistress?!”, Komaeda panicked as he ran over to her. She kicked him in the face and sneered.

 

“Don’t go up to me without permission.”

 

“My apologies, mistress.”

 

“Good,”

 

Right now, Komaeda felt happiness. His mistress was a wondrous monster he would love to kill.

 

“Now peasant, what do you need?”

 

“Oh noble mistress, it is a privilege to be in your presence. May I be purified? It is rude of me to ask. You may do whatever you wish to me.”

 

Enoshima laughed at the irony.

 

“Of course.”

 

Komaeda viewed her as a monster, but she was still his family.

 

Enoshima’s fingers touched his cheek with the coldness of ice.

 

Something broke in the albino. He was frozen. It was a sense of fear he felt.

 

The girls eyes were just as cold she raised an object in her hand and swiftly brought it down. There wasn’t even a flinch and that’s what scared Komaeda the most. This girl was inhuman. She was a demon.

 

It was easy to know why serial killers don’t flinch when inflicting pain on others, but only a demon would chop of its own hand without any reaction.

 

Enoshima’s chuckle brought him back to his senses.

 

She shouted for Tsumiki to enter the room.

 

The nurse opened the door in horror. She left the prisoner in her hands on the other side of the room.

 

That prisoner locked eyes with Komaeda’s. Both had an equal amount of fear.

 

Souda gulped.

 

A few hours later, Enoshima had a fully functional prosthetic arm thanks to Souda. Komaeda stared down at his new hand as Enoshima whispered, “You have now been purified.”

 

. . .

 

It’s been another full year for everyone.

 

Nanami had a miscarriage that caused her to fall into apathy, but she was doing better than Hinata who was an absolute mess. He tried his best to support Nanami, but failed each time an opportunity came. Due to this, Hinata got drunk every other week.

 

Ouma had woken up and was in stable condition.

 

He woke up seeing Saihara’s face. His memories came rushing back and for the first twenty minutes he cried in anguish and happiness. They were a happier couple than before.

 

Then the news of Kirie’s betrayal made Saihara wonder about a few things. They decided to investigate her place once Ouma was back to his healthiest state.

 

Ouma still had some problems but with his husband, he handled them with progress.

 

Then there came Komaeda.

 

The albino was worse than ever. His delusional self tried to kill Enoshima a few times but she never “punished” him for it. In fact, she seemed happy with her results.

 

The multiple personalities he had were now three main ones. There was his stuck up self where he seemed to be above everyone. That was his most logical and analytical side. The second one was his absolutely insane side. He considered himself hopeful and tried to commit arson. The third one was when he felt like absolute trash.

 

Maybe deep down, there was a part of him that wanted to burst out.

 

. . .

 

Saihara and Ouma got back to business in a few months. The purple haired boy was taking things easy but insisted on investigating this.

 

“Kirie is Mukuro.”, Ouma concluded. “I didn’t see her take off her wig but she shot me. Plus, you said that Kirie was nowhere to be found after that happened. Then Kirie returned a week later?”

 

“I know it’s suspicious but there wasn’t much proof that she wasn’t taken by Enoshima already. She came back a week later claiming it but I’m not too sure.”

 

“Whatever, let’s go.”

 

They saw a fire blazing through the apartment building “Kirie” was living in. Ouma recklessly ordered Saihara to save civilians while kicking Kirie’s door down. He saw everything burning but noticed an old laptop and papers. Quickly, Ouma grabbed whatever he could before noticing the door blocked by fire. He broke and climbed through the window.

 

Saihara saw him and yelled for his husband to jump down.

 

“ARE YOU INSANE?!”, they both yelled.

 

Still, Ouma let go and plummeted down. Saihara caught him and fell back. The fire department arrived on time to take care of the situation.

 

Saihara was furious with his lover.

 

“Kokichi! I just got you back! I can’t do this! I can’t have you leave me again! Not like last time!”

 

Ouma’s eyes widened at Saihara’s tears. He wiped some away and embraced the golden eyed male.

 

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

 

. . .

 

Saihara and Ouma found a jackpot in their evidence. There was a mansion in Germany owned by a woman with a lot of money. They thought that this might be where Enoshima was. It could be the biggest solution.

 

The two planned ahead of time to travel there. However, Saihara forbid Ouma from going. Surprisingly enough, the other agreed to this and said that he would keep researching.

 

At the airport, Ouma gazed sadly at his husband. Before Saihara left, Ouma hugged him.

 

“Be safe, ok?”

 

“I will.”

 

Truthfully, Saihara was torn between whether or not to take Ouma along. On one hand, it would be a dangerous mission considering Ouma’s history with Enoshima. On the other hand, Ouma needed someone by his side in case of panic attacks. That’s why he decided to leave Ouma to Kirigiri and Naegi.

 

Saihara considered leaving his husband with Momota and Harukawa but he had a feeling that they would make things worse. Hinata and Nanami were also not his ideal option since he’s heard of their problems and doesn’t want Ouma involved with that. He even considered Kamakura but something told him that Ouma wouldn’t like the idea so he decided to leave him with two coworkers they sort of got along with. Kirigiri could handle Ouma and maybe Naegi would help.

 

The golden eyed male sat in his seat and began falling asleep. “Kokichi...don’t do anything rash...”

 

In Germany, Saihara had some help around. He then saw Enoshima’s place. It was beautiful, but there was something about it that was unsettling.

 

He knocked on the door, knowing fully well what he was getting into. He had backup just in case but wanted to have it as a last resort.

 

A young man opened the door. He seemed malnourished and very thin. This worried Saihara a bit. “I wanted to speak with the owner of this house.”

 

“I see...”

 

The young man was interrupted by a familiar girl, Mukuro Ikusaba. She immediately knew she was in trouble but brought him in and locked the door. Her eyes were full of confidence.

 

She led him to another hallway, and another, and another. It became a maze for him all of a sudden.

 

Their silence was deafening until she stopped at large double doors. Mukuro knocked on the door three times, paused, then knocked one more time.

 

“Come in!”

 

They walked through the doorway. Saihara’s suspiciousness was made clear. What he saw made his eyes widen.

 

Komaeda was on the ground. His face underneath Enoshima’s shoe. The albino saw Saihara. His eyes were dull and there was no recognition. There wasn’t any spark indicating he even knew Saihara.

 

Enoshima leaned down and whispered something to the albino. He got up, and limped away. The girl laughed.

 

“Goodbye now Shu,”

 

Everything became dark. He wasn’t knocked out. He was blinded. He heard many screams and such, but suddenly, he felt a hand on his mouth. Whoever it was pulled him through the hallways until getting to a door and kicking it down. It was still dark, but the person pushed Saihara in and closed the door.

 

A few moments later, he saw a candle. Then he heard a familiar voice.

 

“You’ll be safe in here for a little bit. They’re going to check for where all the slaves are to kill them.” Suddenly the flame turned green. “Be quiet. They won’t kill us if we have a green flame.”

 

Saihara nodded but realized he couldn’t be seen. An unidentifiable person knocked the door down and saw the green flame. The person then ran away.

 

“Komaeda...”, Saihara whispered.

 

The said person jumped. “How do you know my name?”

 

“I’ll explain later. Just help me escape.”

 

There was silence. “Ok I will. Just let me save a guy first.”

 

“Ok...”

 

Komaeda ran off somewhere.

 

. . .

 

It’s been thirty minutes and saihara was hiding behind barrels just in case Komaeda called for the guards.

 

The albino came back. “Are you still here?”

 

Silence...

 

“Who are you looking for?”, another voice asked.

 

Kazuichi!

 

Saihara stepped out. “Kazuichi? It’s me, Saihara?”

 

“Oh my goodness! No way! Shuichi?!”

 

Looks like only Komaeda had forgotten about him.

 

“You guys know each other?”

 

“Long story,” Kazuichi whispered.

 

Komaeda sighed and led them through another set of hallways to a secret escape.

 

There it was. Light...

 

. . .

 

It’s been a couple weeks since Saihara had gone to Germany and Ouma had been pouting. Kirigiri and Naegi took care of him during panic attacks.

 

He still missed Shuichi.

 

Kirigiri was on the phone with someone and seemed to be slightly happier.

 

Naegi sat next to Ouma.

 

“Hey...good news!”

 

“What...”

 

“They found Komaeda!”

 

Ouma froze. Komaeda was found? His eyes started getting glossy.

 

. . .

 

They were in a hospital when Ouma saw Komaeda again. When they first met in years, Ouma’s heart shattered again.

 

“Who are you?”

 

Ouma couldn’t answer.

 

Saihara gave nervous glances. “Komaeda, this is Kokichi, your best friend.”

 

The albino glared at the both of them. “Best friend? My best friend is Mona-,”

 

Pain...

 

Komaeda clutched his head in what seemed to be a never ending pain. Something was screaming for him to remember. No! Enoshima was all he needed to remember! No! No! NononononononononononONONONONONONONONONONO!

 

Kokichi reached out, but Komaeda slapped the hand away. The purple haired boy felt hurt but somehow this reminded him of his past self.

 

Komaeda felt more pain. Something flashed by for him.

 

Purple...

 

“Na-gi-to-chan.”

 

His face contorted in pain.

 

“I’m sorry about this. He won’t hurt you anymore.”, Komaeda said as he rubbed Ouma’s back.

 

A surge of recognition haunted him. He looked up into Kokichi’s eyes. Warmth...those hands brought him warmth...

 

They were so familiar. He felt some gaps in his life fill up but he couldn’t remember how he got in such a tragic situation.

 

In instinct, he lunged for Ouma grabbing the smaller hands, craving for more warmth.

 

The shorter male yelped in confusion before staring in horror. Kokichi felt his panic set in and pulled away.

 

Komaeda came to his senses and cringed. He looked at his hands. One was cursed while the other was dirty. The shame and regret he felt was intense. The albino did the opposite of what he wanted to do before. He wanted to protect Kokichi. He wanted to love Kokichi, but now he couldn’t. Now he was just as much of a monster as Enoshima.

 

He remembered his childhood and a little bit of high school. There was one girl in the friend group he was in that he couldn’t recall. In fact, Kokichi was the only person he could clearly remember. That other girl felt familiar though.

 

Komaeda curled up. “I’m sorry.”

 

Kokichi relaxed. This wasn’t the time to fear his best friend. The purple haired male made steps towards Komaeda and set his hand on top of the other’s.

 

The albino looked up in surprise. They felt tears spilling as they embraced each other. Komaeda still didn’t know how to react to Kokichi’s presence. It was so familiar, yet foreign.

 

The reunion was heartbreaking, but hopefully things would get better.


	18. Possibly discontinuing

So uh...not confirmed yet, but it’s something possible. I haven’t been updating as much as I should have. It’s either this is going to be a hiatus or a discontinuation. My apologies! 

The reasons for my disappearance is school. I know I know, such a common and easy excuse to make. I’m focusing on other things in my life like, friends, family, choir, art, and different writings.

I’m not too big on Danganronpa anymore. It’s been a beautiful experience to play Danganronpa and spent time on it. It’s been one of the better fandoms I’ve been in, and Danganronpa has shaped quite a bit of my life. For the last 3 or 4 years, I’ve been obsessed with it and honestly, if it weren’t for Danganronpa I wouldn’t be the same person. Unfortunately, since DRV3 I’ve been expecting this to happen to me. In my opinion, DRV3 is the best Danganronpa game asides from the ending. I’m mostly neutral on that obviously.

I’m not too sure where my fanfictions will go next. I might pick this back up if I ever reconnect with the series. It’s just something that drifted away from me for a while now. Rewatching Danganronpa things doesn’t make me happy since it’s the same formula and story I’ve known about throughout my time in the fandom. Still the best game I’ve played, just something I can’t find motivation to love.

So...for now this is goodbye on the fanfic. I’ll try to see if I can continue it in December to make up for all of this. It will be on hiatus until I finally decide that there’s nothing I can do to continue.

Let’s hope for the best! Thank you so much for reading and supporting such a convoluted plot! I really do appreciate it.


	19. Beginning to Heal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata gets wind of Komaeda’s return. The albino is slowly recovering.
> 
> Everyone is trying.

Hinata didn’t know what to say after hearing the news. He had just been doing his job until he saw Souda and Saihara walk in. It was surprising to say the least.

 

A coworker of his told him that she’d take over, seeing the surprised look in his eyes.

 

With slow steps, Hinata felt tears fall. “Kazuichi?”

 

The brunette immediately held the other man in his arms. He let go and laughed. “After all this time, I thought you were dead.”

 

The pink haired man looked away with a nervous smile. “Yeah, I thought you would say that. It’s been quite the life over there with that witch.”

 

Hinata could tell there was something on both of their minds.

 

“Look, Shuichi, don’t you think that you should tell him? You’re better at this than I am.”

 

“I...we need to find a more private place to talk about this.”

 

Saihara went up to one of the employees. The young man pointed to a corner of the library that nobody went to and looked at Hinata with a nod.

 

The trio went to the seemingly abandoned books and stood there in an awkward silence.

 

“What did you guys want to talk about?” Hinata asked.

 

The other two looked at each other with uneasy eyes. Saihara was the one to speak.

 

“We have good and bad news. As you can tell, we found Kazuichi. Along with him, we found Nagito.”

 

They kept quiet to let Hinata process what was being said. Kazuichi continued.

 

“The guy’s alive and he’s doing ok at the hospital. The only problem is...” he started trailing off.

 

Saihara took a deep breath and finished for him. “He’s not in the best shape right now. Nagito’s forgotten all of us and everything. He also needs time to heal since his stay with Enoshima hadn’t been a good one. I’m sorry.”

 

The conversation ended there when Hinata walked away with a horrified expression. Souda and Saihara took this as a sign to leave him be.

 

. . .

 

Komaeda and Ouma had been talking more often. The former had taken a liking to his companion and seemed to hold him in a higher regard than everyone else as Ouma did show him all of the things he missed out on.

 

Although, it was more accurate to say all of the good things he missed out on since there has been nothing but tragedy in the last few years. He even told his friend that the explanation of what just happened had to wait.

 

Ouma hid any mention of high school’s problems and told anecdotes about their double dates and such.

 

Speaking of double dates, Ouma had yet to mention much about Hinata. Komaeda’s jaw had dropped when he knew that he had a boyfriend before getting abducted. He asked many questions that Ouma couldn’t answer due to the living situation Hinata was in. He distracted the albino with other tales they had shared together.

 

Komaeda was mostly melancholic due to the fact that he couldn’t remember much. He detested the fact that Ouma felt the need to hide things from him no matter how much sense it made. Still, he had hope to meet the unnamed man he knew.

 

. . .

 

Hinata and Nanami talked in hushed voices about the events that have unfolded. Everything was a complete mess.

 

Olive eyes were desperate for a way to start over. He wanted to erase his regrets of being an unstable person. The pain stemmed from the fact that he wasn’t loyal. He didn’t want to be so stupid but he managed to sink down his grave. He couldn’t bare telling Komaeda the truth, but he knew it wouldn’t be right to hide it.

 

Nanami calmed him down and stood up. “Just go talk to him. It’ll be fine. You don’t need to say much about what happened. Just say hello and hug it out. You can explain everything then.”

 

Hinata nodded to the idea, his face numb. Nanami exited to the other room and left the man alone on a chair. Really, he didn’t feel like a man, more like a cowardly child.

 

“Ha...ha...haha..hahahahahahahahahahaha,”

 

He started to laugh uncontrollably at the situation he put himself in. The pain never ceased no matter how much and how loud he laughed.

 

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,”

 

If Nanami had heard him, she didn’t show it. She must’ve been on the brink of tears after listening to him lose control of himself, laughing at the anguish.”

 

Hinata broke down into tears, but he couldn’t stop laughing at the irony. There were no good words to describe the feeling. All he could do was helplessly laugh as tears fell.

 

Nanami had left the next day. She left a note apologizing to him. Hinata was tired. He couldn’t blame her for leaving. It was inevitable anyways. He went to the bathroom and made himself look as decent as possible.

 

Hinata stopped by a floral shop for some flowers. He bought some daisies and lilies before stopping by the hospital.

 

He couldn’t help but shake. He was about to face someone who didn’t even deserve to go through what happened.

 

His heart pounded. His pulse was riveting. Everything in the atmosphere was tense until he just knocked on the door, hearing a come in.

 

Right in front of him, was a serene man, reading a book in the white light to match his hair. That angel looked at him with surprise and wonder.

 

“Hello, do I know you?”

 

It had hurt to see that not even the albino’s lover could be recognized immediately.

 

“Well, I suppose you don’t remember me. I’ve heard the news from Saihara.”

 

“I see, are you one of my friends?”

 

Hinata couldn’t quite breathe.

 

“My name is Hajime Hinata.”

 

Komaeda’s eyes sparked with undefined emotions.

 

He started thinking about Ouma’s excuses to not talk about the things that have happened to him as of late. Who was Enoshima? Why did she love torturing him. How come Souda was surprised that he didn’t know Hinata.

 

There was another flash of memories. They were vague but yet again, familiar.

 

“Hajime...Hinata? I don’t mean to be rude, but what are you to me?”

 

The brunette stood there. Many things echoed in his head. Suddenly he opened his mouth to say his words.

 

“They didn’t tell you?”

 

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“I’m...somebody you considered close.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yes,”

 

The words hurt coming out of his own dry mouth. Why did he have to lie about such a thing? Was it worth it? He knew that Komaeda would find out about his lie one way or another, but he didn’t say anything.

 

Strangely enough, Komaeda felt many things. Most of all, he felt a swell of affection surge within him. The man in front of him was somewhere in his memory.

 

A kiss.

 

A ring.

 

_“To put it shortly...will you marry me?”_

 

Hinata flinched when he saw Komaeda’s glassy eyes. The latter wiped away his tears in confusion. The brunette panicked. Did he do something wrong?

 

“Ha...jime,”

 

A delicate smile grew on his features as Komaeda cried even further.

 

“I’m home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I discontinuing? Probably, unfortunately
> 
> However! I’ll try to continue if I can. I’m not in the fandom, but I would hate to leave the story like this. If this is the last chapter, which I hope it isn’t, then at least there’s a bittersweet end to the story? I didn’t want to make you wait forever on the lovely couple’s reunion, so...here it is?
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you so much for being here.


	20. Arguing Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course, the reunion didn’t go as well as it should have. Ouma couldn’t help but feel unhappy about certain events. In the end, we find out a neutral character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I’m back with the angst train.

Hinata and Komaeda embraced each other. The former choking out apologies.

 

“I’m sorry for letting you leave. I’m so sorry for arguing with you like that.”

 

They started kissing furiously, as if it would be the last time.

 

Ouma walked in on them with a frown. He knew that Hinata wasn’t exactly a saint, and his blood boiled when he saw Komaeda and Hinata together. He tried to repress the feelings for his best friend’s sake.

 

“Sorry to interrupt the reunion! I believe we have some business to talk about.”

 

Hinata glared at Ouma. “Business?”

 

“Business, as in everything that has happened in our timeline.”

 

The brunette sighed and nodded. “Alright,”

 

They were all sitting now, Komaeda on his bed, and the other two on some chairs.

 

Ouma gave a serious look to the albino. “What do you remember?”

 

Komaeda looked down at his bandaged hand. “I remember you and Hinata. I...know about some parts of my past. The only thing not so clear to me was high school and forward. I see snippets of those moments, but not the full picture.”

 

Ouma began explaining some things. “Junko Enoshima, do you know who she is and what her motives are?”

 

“I know her to be the one who kept me captive. Her motives? Not really,”

 

“Junko Enoshima was...someone who hated you a lot, especially in high school. She hated you because you were close to me. Eventually she started bullying and blackmailing you whilst targeting me. She...used to be my friend.”

 

“Then Hajime happened, right?”

 

Komaeda slowly remembered the details. The contest, the attempted suicides, the dates, were all coming back to him.

 

“Yes,”

 

“After high school, she was gone from prison...so she took me in to torture me?”

 

“I think so. Now, I think there’s more to her motives as she did abduct Souda. I assume she’s trying to create something on a worldwide scale.”

 

Hinata looked at Ouma in surprise. “Do you really think so?”

 

“There’s evidence for it. She could torture Nagi all she wants, but why would she take Souda and so many servants? Why would she have such a hugebase in Germany if she just wanted to hide away and torture someone. I believe there’s more to this. Then there’s Mukuro Ikusaba. Why did she try to trick me into thinking she was someone else. She obviously kept tabs on me and everyone, but why?”

 

Hinata got to thinking. “You could be right. I don’t want to believe she could be so horrible like that, but then again, she was obviously insane.”

 

Komaeda couldn’t say anything as all of his memories came back until he got curious about the sudden hostility between the two closest people in his life.

 

“What...happened while I was gone?”

 

They both looked at him with shock. Ouma glared at Hinata. “Do you remember the time in the warehouse?”

 

“The one where Enoshima baited you?”

 

“Yes, that one. After that event, everyone was pretty surprised you were alive.”

 

“I would expect them to be.”

 

“Well, Hajime here, just couldn’t keep his pants zipped up, because he and Nanami fu-,”

 

Hinata stood up. “Shut up! That’s none of your business.”

 

Ouma did the same and walked over to Hinata. “Oh, it is my business alright, your relationship with her was wrong and you knew it.”

 

“You were the one who gave up on Nagito in the first place.”

 

“I thought he was dead. I was trying to cope with it.”

 

“I was coping with it too!”

 

“You knew he was alive!”

 

“Does this mean I don’t have a right to-,”

 

Another person came in. It turned out to be Momota and Saihara.

 

“That’s enough, both of you,” Saihara sighed.

 

Momota nodded to Komaeda with a slight smile. “Glad to see you’re still alive.”

 

The albino nodded back, distracted by Ouma’s words. “Hajime and Chiaki...”

 

Everyone heard his murmur clearly. Ouma stormed out, only looking back to give a silent apology.

 

Hinata was blinking away tears. Saihara knew this was a bad situation by the looks of things. He was debating on what to do, considering his husband just left.

 

Momota put a hand on his sidekick’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this. You can talk to Kokichi.”

 

Saihara nodded and thanked his friend. He looked at Komaeda and muttered a sorry before leaving.

 

The albino was dazed with duller eyes.

 

Hinata turned to look at him. “Nagito, I can explain. Ju-,”

 

Komaeda glared at him. “You kissed me with that mouth. You and Chiaki...you and her did something like that? Hajime Hinata, do you understand what you did?”

 

“Please, I-,”

 

“Shut up! Just shut up and leave! I don’t want to hear your excuses! We’re done now! I can’t believe you would kiss me with the same mouth you kissed her with!”

 

Hinata could do nothing but stare with horror.

 

“Just...leave. Please,” Komaeda whispered.

 

Momota looked at the both of them. He shook his head at Hinata and gestured him to leave.

 

“I’ll talk to you later, Hajime.”

 

The brunette didn’t argue or resist. He just walked off with tears.

 

For a moment, it was quiet. Then Komaeda broke down. With the amount of times he cried, he expected his eyes to look redder than a tomato.

 

The space cadet patted him. He couldn’t offer much.

 

After a weeping session, Komaeda just stared blankly. Momota took this as a moment to talk.

 

“I’m sorry that happened to you.”

 

“...”

 

“What he did was wrong, but I know you’ll recover.”

 

“We’re still engaged.”

 

“...I know,”

 

“It hurts a lot.”

 

“I want to tell you a secret.”

 

This made the albino curious.

 

“Before Maki, I had a nice girlfriend. She cheated on me and when I found out, it really stung badly. I found out that it was because I was neglecting her so she grew desperate for affection. Her and I got back together and we had a good relationship until she got into an accident and died. I don’t want Maki to do that so I try to spend all of my time with her.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s fine. What Hajime did was wrong, but if you talked things out, I’m sure better things will happen. It’s up to you though. Take as long as you need.”

 

“I’ll think about it.”

 

Momota grinned and ruffled the other’s hair. “Relax a bit. I’ll bring you a sandwich tomorrow. Hospital food is gross.”

 

Komaeda laughed. “Thanks, Kaito,”

 

“No problem!”

 

. . .

 

Enoshima walked down a hallway with a smirk. She was sent a picture of the argument just a few minutes ago. This did delight her, but the bigger news, was the completion of a certain invention.

 

Shinguji glared at her as she inspected the machine. He had grown tired of her constant unbearable face. The long haired man knew of her plans and did not like them one bit. He knew he had to do something before her plan was complete.

 

Why did he hate it so much?

 

Because all of humanity was on a thin rope that could snap at any second.


	21. Before the Next Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what’s happening while Komaeda and Momota were talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been about a month since this fic has been updated. I am so sorry about not updating. I have been busy with another fanfiction that I have finished. I might update again soon, but while you’re waiting, here’s a new chapter!

Ouma and Saihara weren’t arguing despite what it looked like. It was more like...a small debate.

 

“Kokichi, you shouldn’t say things like that. He just got back and he’s still taking things in. You should at least wait for them or let Hinata tell him that himself.”

 

“So you’re saying to pretend nothing happened?! By the time he would’ve inevitably found out, he would get mad at all of us for keeping it from him.”

 

“Still, right after Hajime and Nagito reunited, you had to do that?”

 

“I couldn’t help it. He thinks that he could just walk in as if nothing-,”

 

“Kokichi! Think about Nagito. You’re making this about your spite. What’s done has been done, but we need to be careful about this.”

 

“Fine, I guess you’re right.”

 

It was surprising to see Kokichi give up on a fight like that. Shuichi knew it was because of his worry for Nagito, but it was still unusual.

 

“Shuichi, I’m worried for him.”

 

“I know Kokichi.”

 

The purple haired man walked over to his husband and just held him tightly.

 

“Shuichi, I love you,”

 

“I...I love you too, Kokichi.”

 

“Never leave me. I swear, if you do what Hajime does, then I’ll file the divorce paper.”

”Ha ha, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

 

”Not even with Kayayday?”

 

”She and Rantaro have each other.”

 

”I’m kidding,”

 

”I know,”


	22. Hinata’s Mundane Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Sorry for not updating! I know this is a short chapter but I might finish this story at last! Slow updates coming up!

Hinata shivered at his misfortune. He had stopped visiting the hospital Komaeda was staying at. Whatever was he going to do with his soul. 

 

Hinata was not doing so well. Everyone had taken notice in his behavior and expressions. There were dark bags under his eyes. Maybe he should go get some help. Still, he’s put up a smile whenever a new customer came in.

 

It was his break time at last. He went into the back room and found himself scrolling through his phone. However, he could never escape reality, could he? Komaeda was all over the news. The brunette saw many articles on the wonders of the albino’s escape.

 

Along with those articles were ones of terrorist attacks. He had no idea how to feel about those. 

 

After his break, he went back to the front. Since there was barely anyone in the store, he could relax. Then, he heard a bell indicating that a person came in. Hinata looked up to give his usual fake smile, but immediately dropped it when he saw who it was.

 

“N-Nagito…”


	23. Parties, are they too much?

5 months later:

 

Saihara had gotten Kokichi a new ring to make up for the one he lost while being held hostage. They and Komaeda have been tagging along for some outings. The albino always felt like a third wheel, but it wasn’t the worst thing. He was still adjusting to his scars and...arm. It wasn’t Junko’s at least.

 

He felt paranoia no matter where he went. Even in his own home, he felt unsafe. Speaking of home, he lived in the old apartment from high school. It brought back memories, huh. Of course it was smaller than the house he and Hinata shared, but it was cozy and nostalgic.

 

His life has been relatively peaceful for the last few months. He’s started writing again, publishing Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, which caused many people to bombard his inbox with questions of his disappearance.

 

One day, he had gotten a text from Kamakura. The older male invited him to a reunion party of sorts, inviting all of his college friends and all of Hinata’s high school friends.

 

It still hurts to remember Hinata.

 

Well, that didn’t matter. As anxious as he was, Kokichi and Saihara were going so why shouldn’t he? His best friend had been loosening his mentality on keeping walls up ever since things got quieter for them.

 

It was nice to see Kokichi so happy with Shuichi. Komaeda had kept some information away from them, mostly about Shinguji in order to allow Kokichi some peace.

 

The night of the reunion came and they arrived safely at Kamakura’s house. The dark haired male greeted them with as much kindness as he usually does. Even though he didn’t know Kokichi, he invited him due to Hinata going to the same school as him. 

 

When Komaeda walked into the house, Kamakura put a hand on his shoulder. 

 

“Let’s talk alone.”

 

Komaeda nodded. He trusted Kamakura. They made their way to a guest room, with the darker haired male in the lead.

 

The albino hummed. “So, you graduated, huh? Not surprising since you have so much talent. Congratulations,”

 

“Thank you. The reason I wanted to talk to you was because of the sticky situation you’ve been going through.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Nagito, have you called off the engagement with Hajime?”

 

“...”

 

. . .

 

5 months prior:

 

Komaeda saw Hinata through the windows of the bookstore. His heart felt like dropping, but he had to talk to Hinata. He held his breath and opened the door.

 

“N-Nagito…”

 

The albino nodded to him. “Do you mind if we talk after work?”

 

“Of course, Nagito I’m-,”

 

“Later, Hajime. Later,”

 

The brunette felt time get slower. He wanted to talk to Komaeda. As his shift finally came to an end, Hinata rushed out. He saw the albino leaning against a wall, staring out into the sky with those grey green eyes.

 

“Nagito, what did you want to talk about?”

 

“Why did you do it?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Why did you and Nanami-,”

 

“I’m sorry, I want to explain but no matter what it’s wrong. I just wanted someone by my side so I wouldn’t feel so empty without you.”

 

“...”

 

“I understand if you hate me for this but-,” Hinata never got to finish.

 

Komaeda was walking away with his back facing the brunette.

 

“I’m sorry, Hinata. I’m calling off the engagement.”

 

Hinata was left reaching out towards the distant figure.

 

. . .

 

“I did end it.”

 

Kamakura nodded. They were silent until he spoke. “Hajime is here. Do you want to avoid him?”

 

“In a way, yes, but I don’t think it’s right to just ignore him.”

 

“That’s alright. It’s been hard for the both of you, so I understand.”

 

“Thanks Izuru,”

 

“Mhm,”

 

Kamakura opened the door and stepped aside to let Komaeda get out.

 

Later through the night, the albino had just been sitting on a chair awkwardly. Kamakura was talking to Togami so he couldn’t talk to him. Souda was thirdwheeling again. Momota was with Harukawa, and there were so many other people. So many other couples. Kokichi and Shuichi were having the time of their life.

 

“Hey, can I sit here?”

 

Komaeda looked to his side and saw Nanami. He hadn’t talked to her in forever. He didn’t even feel the need to confront her. 

 

“Sure,”

 

“I’m sorry about everything that’s happened.”

 

“It happened months ago. Don’t worry. I’m not even sure about how I feel anymore.”

 

“Hm,”

 

Komaeda sighed. Was there any way of fixing this? He stood up and smiled at Nanami. “I’ll see you around, Chiaki.”

 

“Yeah,”


	24. Red

“War, terrorism, despair, many of these words perfectly encase this situation. The bomber has been identified to be Junko Enoshima. She has not been caught, but in Germany, it is suspected that she was the one who caused the endless amount of pollution and death with a strange invention. Just one flip of the switch, and a poisonous gas takes over all of you.”

 

Komaeda has had very little sleep. The events going on made him suspect that maybe she was actually just insane.

 

The day came around once more and his worries had only become worse. Many cities near his experienced some more attacks. Did Enoshima have that many people to sacrifice?

 

He went back to his schedule, trying to reassure himself. He was going to get fired if he missed one more day.

 

The albino decided to prepare a sandwich before going out. He was about to cut the sandwich into two triangles, but his hand twitched. He froze when coming into contact with the knife. Komaeda looked back at his prosthetic arm. Images of his past arms flashed. His normal hands were unclean. His “savior’s” hand was bloody. His prosthetic hand is not the same.

 

He heard the clock chime.

 

“I don’t need to cut sandwiches anyways.”

 

. . .

 

The cafe was buzzing with life despite the horror of the events being displayed on screen. The pastel walls reflected an innocent time when nobody had to worry about the world. Komaeda felt out of place. A bland, impure soul, standing in such a bright and whimsical place. 

 

“Ey, Cloud? Do you mind making the Black Forest cake? We’re out of them.”

 

“Oh, uh sure.”

 

“Thanks, Cloud.”

 

Cloud? Sure he had white and uncontrollable hair, but clouds are meant to be cute and fluffy. He was far from that. Not to mention, he didn’t want to be associated with Final Fantasy since he was nothing like the character.

 

“Mhm”

 

The kitchen area was often hectic. Komaeda did his best to help bake the cake. When he had to drain the cherries, that’s when something kicked in.

 

The albino stared at its color. The jar held had a wondrous and dark red. Something about it sickened him. Maybe it was the color, or it could be the amount. He didn’t know. Maybe it reminded him of her blood or nails. Either way, he was absolutely sure that something about her remained in the back of his mind.

 

Komaeda waved towards another baker. “Do you mind taking over for me? I need to use the restroom.”

 

“Ok, Cloud,”

 

The albino sped out. He was sure he saw some customers look at him weirdly, but he paid them no mind. 

 

Komaeda found himself throwing up in a toilet stall.

 

A few minutes of him heaving tired him out.

 

A sudden feeling of warmth took him. Someone was patting his back and whispering soothing words to him.

 

“H-Hajime,”


	25. Dark to Light-Light to Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for not updating. There will be some swearing but it’s for a little bit.
> 
> In the end notes, I will explain some things.

The brunette wanted to get some Black Forest cake. He was practically craving it. Hinata had thought about eating at a cafe that was around for a few months now. 

 

As he made his way there, he noticed how similar the street leading to the bakery was to the bookstore he worked at. That brought back more memories of him and Komaeda.

 

Well, to be specific, he was remembering Komaeda breaking off the engagement. The way Komaeda walked off into the distance like a winter flower being blown in the wind was mesmerizing and heartbreaking.

 

When he finally made it to his destination, he saw the familiar white hair he had seen for much of his life now. The kind, murky green eyes of his had shimmered in the pastel bakery. The albino zoned out and didn’t see Hinata.

 

Hinata felt both sad and relieved. His heart wouldn’t make it if he had to greet Komaeda. One moment those eyes would be embracing like the waters of a calm ocean. The next, they would be hardened and cold like a gemstone.

 

He hid his face as he ordered a Black Forest cake.

 

“I’m sorry, but we’re out of those. Do you want to come back later today?”

 

“That would be fine.”

 

The employee called out to Komaeda and told him to bake another cake.

 

While he was at it, Hinata took a look around and saw Sonia. He walked over to her table and greeted her.

 

“Oh! Hajime, it’s nice to see you here.”

 

“Same to you, Sonia.”

 

They continued a light conversation until a sudden slam of the kitchen door interrupted them. A familiar albino rushed to the restroom. The entire bakery was silent until Hinata stood up to go follow Komaeda into the restroom out of concern.

 

The sight of his former fiancée kneeling over the toilet, dry vomiting, was enough to make Hinata forget about his fears of confrontation. He immediately sat by Komaeda’s side, trying his best to comfort him.

 

“H-Hajime,”

 

“I’m right here. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

 

Komaeda relaxed and fell against Hinata. “Thank you,”

 

“No problem. Do you want me to take you home?”

 

“I have to wo-,”

 

“Nagito, please, you’re throwing up and I don’t want you to work when you don’t feel well.”

 

Komaeda hesitated before nodding. “Thank you...Hajime.”

 

. . .

 

Komaeda was resting in Hinata’s bed. He felt the comfort of a blanket take him off to a dream land.

 

He resisted the urge to cry. Even as warm as it was now, there was a hollow feeling. It was like being in a hospital. The white ceiling stared down at his isolated eyes. Ouma made life so much more colorful, but as soon as he left, Komaeda felt alone. He felt left behind in a hollow, empty, and small room.

 

All he longed for was somebody to be by his side. He thought that at any moment, they would all just leave him. Everyone would claim that he was weighing them down, and that he was an annoying piece of trash.

 

Drama after drama, he would silently weep.

 

“Nagito? I have some soup for you.”

 

Hinata appeared at the doorway, holding a tray with soup and water.

 

“Th-thank you,”

 

The brunette left the tray on the nightstand. He was about to leave until Komaeda’s pale hand grabbed his own tanned hand. In fact, the albino was clinging on for dear life.

 

“Please don’t leave me.”

 

Hinata was reluctant, but sat down by him. He was the person who had an affair with Nanami. Why would Komaeda want him there?

 

“Thank...you,”

 

Soon he fell asleep, not letting go of Hinata’s hand. The grip was much looser now, but Hinata didn’t move his hand.

 

“I’m sorry, Nagito.”

 

. . .

 

The albino woke up, seeing Hinata sleeping while sitting on the bed. He chuckled himself.

 

“Poor Hajime. That’s going to hurt.” 

 

He sat up and noticed the uneaten soup. Komaeda got up and went to the kitchen with the bowl of soup in hand. He reheated it in the microwave.

 

While waiting, he went back to Hinata’s room and tucked him in, laughing at the fact that the other male failed to wake up.

 

The microwave beeped the second Komaeda was finished. He went into the kitchen and ate all of it. The albino started noticing how messy the place was; dishes weren’t washed; alcohol bottles were scattered around; the trash bags were swarmed with flies; the entire place had a sudden accumulation of dust.

 

Komaeda took to cleaning the entire place. By the time he was finished, it was already evening.

 

He heard footsteps coming from behind him.

 

“Holy crap, Nagito, did you clean the entire place?”

 

The albino smiled. “Yup,”

 

“You really didn’t have to do that!”

 

“It’s the least I can do.”

 

“You’re unpredictable.”

 

“Says the guy who fell asleep while sitting up without anything behind you.”

 

“Hey!”

 

They both laughed at the ridiculous conversation. It seemed to make them forget about everything. They felt like they were enjoying a date during high school.

 

That was until Komaeda’s phone rang. The albino answered it quickly. “Kokichi?”

 

“Where are you? I haven’t seen you all day.”

 

“Oh, sorry, I’m away right now.”

 

“You better be safe.”

 

“I am,”

 

“Good,”

 

After a while, Ouma hung up. Komaeda faced Hinata. “I need to get going now. It...was nice seeing you again, Hajime.”

 

“Yeah,”

 

The emptiness came back.

 

Hinata received a text from Saihara.

 

Shuichi: Hey, Hajime, I want to know if you can come with me to see something. I think I found Enoshima, but I don’t want to go inside without backup. In fact, I want to settle this without the police.

 

Hajime: Why without the police?

 

Shuichi: I want to make her pay for everything

 

Hajime: Shuichi? I never thought you of all people would want to do that.

 

Shuichi: Kokichi doesn’t know either. I don’t want him involved anymore.

 

Shuichi: Junko Enoshima is a psychotic bitch who ruined our lives. If it weren’t for her, Nagito would still have 2 arms. If it weren’t for her, you two would be happy. 

 

Shuichi: If it weren’t for that bitch, Kokichi wouldn’t have tried committing suicide.

 

Hajime: He...what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope you enjoyed that chapter. A lot of things have been going on and shit hit the fan. The second part of the chapter, aka Komaeda’s thoughts about loneliness in the hospital, was something I wrote because it was what I was experiencing. It seems a little out of place because I connected it too much to my emotions. I’ve felt alone and detached. A misunderstanding about why someone avoided me really made me feel worse. Luckily I talked to the person and we both sorted things out, but I just can’t deal with much anymore. I’m tired of so many things in my life. I feel like a nuisance and I just want to leave. I’ve been trying to seek help, but the best place always seems to be with people I care about. Which in turn, makes me feel like a nuisance again. I’m feeling better now that I’ve talked to some people and I’ll start updating more soon. Sorry for the rant. Love you guys!


	26. The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, I cannot continue this and that is a final decision. I’ll try wrapping it up in this chapter as best as I can.
> 
> I know this is disappointing and I am truly sorry. I’m not in the Danganronpa fandom anymore which is a huge factor in this. Again, I’ll try my best for an ending that could work. It’s not a very joyous one, but it is a conclusion. This story is not in the canon of Changing my Ending anymore. It’s simply a discontinued sequel

Hinata and Saihara were in the hospital room with Ouma and Komaeda. Saihara was angry, but Hinata insisted that they talk to Ouma before trying to find Enoshima. He however was incredibly tired and only wanted to rest. 

 

An unexpected visit occurred when an unwelcome guest walked inside.

 

Ouma started bawling and clinging Komaeda’s jacket when his saw his visitor. The latter tried his best to comfort his friend, but he had to glare at the intruder. Hinata instantly went hostile and asked for the intruder to leave while Saihara stood in front of Ouma.

 

“I come in peace, no need to be rude. I simply wanted to tell you that I have a lead on Enoshima. Yes, the detective already figured out her location, but I must confess her plans.”

 

“Fuck off, Shinguji.” Komaeda spat. Nobody, not even Ouma, had ever seen Komaeda so furious.

 

“Is that any way to speak to a primary source of information?”

 

Hinata sighed. “Tell us and leave.”

 

“If you say so. Enoshima is going to pollute the entire Earth with an invention created by Kazuichi Souda. I assume that you know who I’m talking about. There’s a lot of members of her organization that were brainwashed by another one of his inventions, and they are everywhere. I wouldn’t even be surprised if there’s one following you right at this second.”

 

Hinata nodded. “Is that it?”

 

“I would advise you all to stay out of her way. She’s not going to die if you continue to pursue her.” He then glanced at Ouma and Saihara. “I hope your marriage is going well. After all of these hard times, I would imagine it being difficult to maintain peace.”

 

Ouma sat straight, his eyes peering into Shinguji’s very own. “I hope you fucking choke on your own bullshit.”

 

. . .

 

Shinguji left the hospital, satisfied. He walked through the dark night and only turned around when he reached his home. “You can kill me in any shape or fashion you want, but the damage is already do-,”

 

His attacker kicked him down and sliced his bandaged hands off. She covered his mouth, enjoying his muffled scream of agony. Soon, he felt a sharp object at the nape of his neck, slowly tearing skin with more pressure added onto it. He could hear his spine starting to snap, and pain seared through every fiber of his body.

 

Then, the knife was lifted,

 

And came back down,

 

Over, and over again.

 

The girl laughed at his pained expression, knowing that he was far from alive already.

 

“Sorry, sweetie, my plans carry on all the same.”

 

. . .

 

Three months later, everyone is cowering in a dystopian, post apocalyptic world. Nobody is able to escape Junko Enoshima’s game.

 

Hinata and Komaeda sat in what’s left of their living room, drowning in a deep depression. They hadn’t talked for days, but only found solace in each other. Their friends vanished one by one, leaving them to grieve.

 

How did things get this way?

 

Saihara had lost one eye when trying to fight for his life. Ouma starved himself, not knowing what hope was. Hinata had witnessed Nanami’s death at the hands of Enoshima herself. Kamakura disappeared claiming vengeance was the only answer, only to be be found dead alongside Nanami’s cadaver. Komaeda’s prosthetic arm didn’t last long as it was becoming a hinderance, which caused him to adapt to using one arm.

 

The four surviving friends stayed with each other, moving and hiding in many different homes. Eventually, they went in circles, reaching the old buildings they used to live in.

 

Dinner time was nearing and Saihara finished preparing cabbage soup, which was considerably the best they had in a while. They all sat in silence, not knowing who should break it. Ouma cleared his throat and hesitated on uttering even a single syllable.

 

“Shuichi’s food is delicious even if it’s the worst possible meal.”

 

They all cringed at how hard Ouma was trying to lighten the mood, but went along with it. Komaeda nodded. “Yes, this is excellent as always, Shuichi.”

 

“Thank you,” the single eyed male said softly. Hinata forced a smile.

 

“We can always depend on you to make food, huh.”

 

The four laughed to themselves before resuming the silence. Komaeda was the one to break it a few minutes later. “How did the supply run go?”

 

Saihara and Ouma frowned as they glanced at each other. Ouma looked down as he spoke. “It’s getting worse. Enoshima is everywhere and her brainwashed idiots are way too violent for us to make it through.”

 

They were hiding something, but Komaeda saw that it was best to let them have their secrets. Hinata noticed as well, and was about to urge them to speak until Komaeda placed a hand on his lap. 

 

After eating, the four slept on the dirty ground. Enoshima’s goons never patrolled here anymore, they realized, probably because of the lack of life around the area. Because of that, they didn’t worry too much about making noises. Hinata and Komaeda slept next to each other, still trying to decipher whether they were dating or not. Out of frustration, Komaeda kissed Hinata, hoping that it would answer his question. Needless to say, they had a long night.

 

The morning was quiet. Komaeda and Hinata woke up in a cold sweat, not knowing where their other companions were. They couldn’t tell what happened, but when searching through the house, they found what they were looking for.

 

Komaeda dropped to his knees, screaming in agony as he tried looking for a way to save them, but both of the survivors knew that the two were long dead. Still, Komaeda hoped that they were somehow alive as he cried. Hinata felt his own spirits being crushed by how happy their deceased friends looked.

 

Saihara was lying in a bathtub, facing the ceiling with Ouma’s head on his chest. They were intertwined in a peaceful way with blood stained wrists. Their embrace was both horrifying and full of content.

 

Hinata and Komaeda left them there, not wanting to separate the two lovers.

 

Now, here they were, sitting on a sofa with little to no hope left. Enoshima had won. She had won everything.

 

Yet Hinata and Komaeda didn’t care. They sat together, reminiscing over the life the used to have. The couple enjoyed each other’s presence as the sun went down once more.

 

They were satisfied with how they wanted to end things, in peace and tranquility. Hinata and Komaeda had prepared themselves, and were ready. Satisfied with their ending, two gunshots were heard at the exact same time.

 

. . .

 

“Hey, Nagi,”

 

“Hm? What is it Kokichi?”

 

“I was wondering how things went so wrong.”

 

“I’ve thought about that as well.”

 

“Are you happy?”

 

“...”

 

“I am.”

 

“As am I.”

 

They sat together, looking down at the world they had recently left.

 

Kokichi smiled to Nagito. “Hey, let’s go join Shuichi and Hajime. I’m sure they’re waiting.”

 

Nagito smiled back. “You go on ahead. I’ll catch up in a few seconds.”

 

“Kay,” Kokichi stood up and walked back. His amethyst hair glistened under the eternal sun.

 

Nagito sighed, feeling the melancholy eat away at him. “This wasn’t the future I hoped for, but it’s the one I helped create, huh.”

 

There was no real response when he was alone. Of course Komaeda continued anyway. “Well, at least we can all be happy again.”

 

He got up after a few moments of more silence and made his way to the fields of joy. There, he was greeted by Hajime, who immediately kissed him as soon as he got back.

 

“Isn’t this what we always wanted in the end?”

 

“Yes, it seems that way.”

 

This was it, their chance to be happy.

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very exaggerated ending and such, but it’s the best I can do. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I’m happy that people have read my story and I will further improve with writing.
> 
> This is my last gift to the Danganronpa community. Thank you all for shaping me to be the person I am today.


End file.
